The motive behind the hate crime seemed to be because of inter caste marriage. Angered by the infant born from Hemavathi’s marriage to a man from a Scheduled Caste community, her family is alleged to have murdered her. Hemavathi (23), belonged to the upper caste Naidu community, married Kesavulu (27), who belongs to a Scheduled Caste in December 2017. Following which the two were in constant hiding fearing Hemavathi’s family’s opposition.
This was not the first attempt, it is believe that in several such incidents in the past the family has tried killing Hemavathi. The six members of Hemavathi’s family accused of her murder, including her father Bhaskar Naidu, her mother Varalakshmi, her sister, her two brothers and her grandfather, have been taken into police custody under charges including abduction and murder. Two of the siblings who are minors were reportedly sent to a juvenile home, while the other four have been sent to judicial custody for 15 days.