HYDERABAD: In yet another case of honour killing , a young couple in love was allegedly murdered by the girl’s family in Anantapur district. The incident came to light when their bodies were found near the railway tracks in Nakkanadoddi village in Guntakal mandal on Thursday morning.

To mislead the police, the accused allegedly dumped the bodies of Gopal, 21, and Mangamma, 18, close to the railway tracks to portray it as a suicide. The couple, who had been in love for the past two years, were tortured and later hit with boulders by the accused, including Mangamma’s father Linganna, leading to their instantaneous death in the late hours of Tuesday.

The victims hailed from Bollanagadda village in Bommanahal mandal of Anantapur district.

Gopal was son of ex-sarpanch Chintala Ramanjaneyulu of Bollanagadda. When both the families learnt about the couple’s relationship some time ago, Linganna confined her daughter to the house and warned her of dire consequences if she did not stop seeing Gopal.

In August, the couple planned to elope and marry as they got worried and realised that their elders would never approve of their marriage, the young couple ran away from their homes on August 21 and took shelter in a relative’s house in Chayapuram village in Vajrakorur mandal.

As ill luck would have it, an auto driver of Bollanagadda saw them and immediately informed Linganna who rushed to Chayapuram with his relatives – Govindu, Vannuru Swamy, Nagaraju, Parameshwarappa and Venkatesh.

They convinced Gopal and Mangamma to come out and took them out on Tuesday evening with a promise to perform their marriage. The unsuspecting couple followed them.

On their way back, the accused tied the couple at Nakkandadoddi, tortured them and later hit them with boulders. To keep their crime a secret, they flung the bodies near the railway tracks and fled the scene.

Some farmers found the bodies late on Wednesday evening and informed the railway police of Gutti mandal. Police recovered the bodies on Thursday morning and shifted them to hospital for an autopsy. A case has been registered based on a complaint by Gopal’s father.

A manhunt has been launched for the killers.

The couple ran away from their homes and took shelter in a relative’s house on Aug. 21. When the accused found them on Tuesday, they promised to perform their wedding, but tortured and killed them on the way to home AU has confirmed the allegations against the accused scientist and ordered an inquiry into the sexual harassment charges. The accused scientist had misbehaved with a student of geology depatment and also asked for sexual favours.

