Pranay Kumar honour killing convict Abdul Bari dies in Cherlapally Jail
Synopsis
One of the convicts in the high-profile Pranay Kumar honour killing case — which gripped the nation in 2018 when a Dalit groom was hacked to death in public — has died of a cardiac arrest while serving life imprisonment in Cherlapally Jail. Abdul Bari's death adds a grim coda to a case that exposed the lethal edge of caste prejudice in modern India.
Key Takeaways
Abdul Bari , 50 , a convict in the Pranay Kumar honour killing case , died of cardiac arrest at Cherlapally Jail, Hyderabad on 24 September .
Bari was accused number four and was serving life imprisonment after conviction by the SC/ST Special Court, Nalgonda .
Pranay Kumar was murdered on 14 September 2018 in Miryalaguda ; his father-in-law Maruthi Rao allegedly paid ₹1 crore to orchestrate the killing.
Contract killer Subhash Kumar Sharma was sentenced to death ; six others, including Bari, received life imprisonment .
Maruthi Rao died by suicide on 7 March 2020 while on bail.
Pranay's widow Amrutha delivered a baby boy in 2019 and continued her fight for justice throughout the six-year trial.
Abdul Bari, a convict serving life imprisonment in the Pranay Kumar honour killing case, died on Thursday, 24 September at Cherlapally Central Jail in Hyderabad after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was 50 years old and had been a key accused in the murder of Dalit youth Perumulla Pranay Kumar in 2018.
How Bari Died
Bari collapsed following a cardiac arrest at approximately 3 pm on Thursday. Jail staff rushed him to Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad, where he was declared dead while undergoing treatment. A resident of Nalgonda, Bari was listed as accused number four in the Pranay murder case. He had also been named as one of the accused in the murder of former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya, though he was acquitted in that case.
The Pranay Kumar Murder: What Happened
Pranay Kumar, then 24 years old, was hacked to death with a machete by a hired killer in full public view on 14 September 2018. The attack occurred as he, along with his pregnant wife Amrutha and mother Premalatha, was leaving a private hospital in Miryalaguda town of Nalgonda district. The brutal killing was captured on CCTV and drew widespread national outrage.
Pranay, a Dalit man, had married Amrutha, who belonged to an upper-caste family, against the wishes of her father Maruthi Rao, a businessman. The couple, childhood friends, had wed on 30 January 2018 at an Arya Samaj temple in Hyderabad.
The Conspiracy and Court Verdict
Police investigations revealed that Maruthi Rao — accused number one — allegedly hatched the murder plot in June 2018, reportedly paying ₹1 crore to contract killer Subhash Kumar Sharma, a native of Bihar, through transporter Abdul Kareem. An advance of ₹15 lakh was shared among Asghar Ali, Abdul Bari, and Kareem on 10 July 2018. In August 2018, Sharma, Ali, and Bari arrived in Miryalaguda before executing the murder the following month.
Maruthi Rao died by suicide on 7 March 2020 while out on bail. After a six-year-long trial, the SC/ST Special Court in Nalgonda sentenced Sharma to death. Bari, along with Asghar Ali, Abdul Karim, Shravan Kumar (Maruthi Rao's brother), auto driver Nizam, and car driver Shiva, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Amrutha's Fight for Justice
Amrutha, who publicly vowed never to return to her parents' home, delivered a baby boy in 2019 while continuing her legal battle for justice. Her resilience drew considerable public sympathy throughout the prolonged trial and remains a defining element of the case's legacy.
A Case That Shook the Nation
The Pranay Kumar case became a landmark in conversations around caste-based discrimination and honour killings in India. Bari's death in custody marks another chapter in the long legal aftermath of a crime that exposed the violent consequences of inter-caste marriage. The remaining convicts, including Sharma on death row, continue to be held in custody.
Point of View
But the Pranay Kumar case remains unfinished business for the Indian justice system. Sharma's death sentence has yet to be carried out, and the broader impunity around honour killings — particularly those targeting inter-caste couples — has not been addressed through any dedicated legislation. The case lit a national debate in 2018; eight years later, that debate has produced more headlines than structural reform. Amrutha's continued fight, conducted in the public eye, has kept the story alive when institutional memory might otherwise have moved on.
NationPress
25 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Abdul Bari and why was he in Cherlapally Jail?
Abdul Bari was one of the convicts in the 2018 murder of Dalit youth Perumulla Pranay Kumar, an honour killing case that drew national attention. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the SC/ST Special Court in Nalgonda and was serving his sentence at Cherlapally Central Jail in Hyderabad when he died of cardiac arrest on 24 September.
What happened in the Pranay Kumar honour killing case?
Pranay Kumar, 24, was hacked to death on 14 September 2018 outside a private hospital in Miryalaguda, Nalgonda district, allegedly orchestrated by his father-in-law Maruthi Rao, who opposed his inter-caste marriage to Amrutha. The murder, caught on CCTV, was reportedly carried out by a hired contract killer who was paid ₹1 crore.
What sentence did the court hand down in the Pranay Kumar case?
The SC/ST Special Court in Nalgonda sentenced contract killer Subhash Kumar Sharma to death after a six-year trial. Six other convicts — Asghar Ali, Abdul Bari, Abdul Karim, Shravan Kumar, auto driver Nizam, and car driver Shiva — received life imprisonment.
What happened to Maruthi Rao, the alleged mastermind?
Maruthi Rao, accused number one and Amrutha's father, died by suicide on 7 March 2020 while out on bail. He had allegedly paid ₹1 crore to arrange the murder of his son-in-law Pranay Kumar.
What is the current status of Pranay Kumar's widow Amrutha?
Amrutha, who was pregnant at the time of her husband's murder, delivered a baby boy in 2019. She publicly vowed never to return to her parents' home and pursued the legal case throughout the six-year trial, becoming a symbol of the fight against honour killings in India.
