The woman’s family alleged that she was burnt to death by her husband after she failed to get admission in MBBS course

Edited by Nidhi Sethi

The Hyderabad police have said they suspect that a 25-year-old aspiring doctor has been killed by her software engineer husband for failing to get admission in an MBBS course. The man and his parents have been arrested.

The woman, Harika Kumar’s parents have alleged a planned murder and have also filed a complaint of harassment for dowry.

Rushi Kumar, the woman’s husband, called Harika’s mother on Sunday night and told her that she had set herself on fire, the police said. The incident took place in LB Nagar’s Rock Town Colony near Hyderabad.

“Harika’s husband claims she committed suicide, but after we visited the scene, it appears to be a murder. We suspect that the man killed his wife,” ACP (LB Nagar division) Venugopala Rao said.

Harika’s parents have told the police that she was trying to crack the medical entrance exam for some time, but had not qualified this year too. She was reportedly selected for a Bachelor of Dental Surgery course at a private college, but her 26-year-old husband was unconvinced and had threatened to divorce her, her family has alleged.

“Harika and Rushi got married two years ago. He had been harassing her as she didn’t get an MBBS seat. She got (admission in) BDS this year. He also harassed her for dowry… It is a planned murder,” Harika’s mother and sister said.

Mr Rao said the exact cause of her death – whether she was strangled before her body was set on fire – will be known after an autopsy. The report is awaited and investigations are on, he said.