Pregnant woman murdered over ‘Atla Taddi’ dispute; husband, father-in-law arrested

A pregnant woman, Meghana, was allegedly murdered by her husband, N. Pradeep, at Lokamudi village in Kaikalur mandal of Eluru district. Her in-laws had initially claimed that she died of cardiac arrest on February 9.

Meghana, a native of Enikepadu village in NTR district, married Pradeep of Lokamudi village last year.

In October 2025, Meghana went to her parents’ house to celebrate the ‘Atla Taddi’ festival. During that period, Pradeep reportedly argued with his wife and her parents, saying that celebrating ‘Atla Taddi’ was not a tradition followed by his family.

When Pradeep refused to take Meghana back with him, her parents convened a ‘panchayat’ with community elders and village heads. Following discussions, Meghana returned to her in-laws’ house a few months later, said Eluru Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) D. Sravan Kumar.

Police said Pradeep allegedly developed a grudge against his wife and reportedly smothered her to death with a pillow on February 9. Subsequently, Pradeep and his father, Narasimha Rao, allegedly attempted to portray the death as a case of cardiac arrest, said Kaikalur Circle Inspector Ravi Kumar.

Acting on a complaint lodged by Meghana’s parents, who expressed suspicion over their daughter’s death, the Mandavalli police registered a case and sent samples for forensic examination.

The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, received recently, confirmed that Meghana died due to asphyxiation and not cardiac arrest.

Police arrested the accused and produced them before a court, which remanded them to judicial custody, the DSP said on Sunday.