In a chilling case that underscores deep-seated religious intolerance, Sheikh Yasmin Bhanu, a young Muslim woman in her early twenties, was allegedly murdered by her own family in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, for marrying a Hindu man, Sai Teja. The couple had solemnised their interfaith marriage on 9 February 2025 in Nellore, according to Hindu customs, despite opposition from Yasmin’s family.
Barely two months after their marriage, Yasmin was found dead under suspicious circumstances at her parental home in the Maseedumitta area of Chittoor town on 13 April 2025. The nature of her death and the behaviour of her family have raised serious concerns of an honour killing disguised as suicide.
According to Sai Teja, who is also a Dalit, the two had been in a relationship for four years before marrying against her family’s wishes. He claims that Yasmin’s relatives deceitfully persuaded her to return to Chittoor, using her father’s ill health as an excuse. On 13 April, he drove her to Chittoor, where his brother handed her over to her family. That was the last he heard from her.
After dropping her off, Sai Teja tried to contact Yasmin for further details. When she didn’t respond, he grew suspicious and went directly to her home to check on her. To his shock, the family informed him that Yasmin had allegedly died by suicide and that her body was in the mortuary.
The distraught Sai Teja accused Yasmin’s family of premeditated murder, alleging that they killed her in cold blood and staged the scene to appear as a suicide, simply because they could not tolerate her marriage to a man of another faith.
Acting on Sai Teja’s complaint, Chittoor Two Town Police have registered a suspicious death case and begun a criminal investigation. Officers have already noted several inconsistencies in the family’s version of events, including the absence of any credible evidence suggesting a suicide. Furthermore, the way in which Yasmin’s body was hurriedly transported to the hospital has come under scrutiny.
The case has taken a darker turn as several of Yasmin’s relatives, including her brother Shaukat Ali—who had reportedly taken her from her marital home—are now absconding.
The deceased, Sheikh Yasmin Bhanu, was in her early 20s and hailed from Chittoor. She had married Sai Teja from Puthalapattu mandal just two months ago in a love marriage. The couple tied the knot on February 9 in Nellore. Four days later, on February 13, they approached Tirupati Rural Police for protection. The police counseled Yasmin’s parents and allowed her to leave with Sai Teja, as both individuals were legally adults.
“The real danger doesn’t lie solely with conservative families, but with hardline Muslim community leaders who impose a rigid moral code and seek to enforce a mosque-controlled society,” said Santhosh, a social activist closely tracking the case.
“These so-called leaders, who publicly chant slogans like ‘Muslim-Dalit bhai bhai’, are the very ones fuelling religious intolerance behind the scenes. Their hypocrisy is glaring. Time and again, we’ve seen either the boy or the girl brutally murdered for choosing love across religious lines,” he added.
According to Santhosh, in such cases, it’s not just the immediate family members who act under pressure—they are often coerced and blackmailed by religious clerics and community elders. Mullahs reportedly issue threats of social excommunication, refusing to perform Islamic rituals at the family’s home or allow them participation in community gatherings, unless they sever ties with the interfaith couple.
“Marriages between Muslims of different sects are themselves frowned upon—imagine the fury when it comes to marrying outside the religion altogether. These killings aren’t just acts of rage; they are calculated warnings to the youth to fall in line, crush their free will, and abandon their right to choose their own partner,” Santhosh concluded.
#Nagaraju was brutally killed for marrying #AshrinSultana by her brothers as they were against her marriage to a Hindu.
Pseudo-Secular gang has gone into Coma now just because the innocent boy was Hindu.
Appeasement of KCR & Hate speeches of Owaisi led to this#JusticeForNagaraju pic.twitter.com/lVnB8bxo5V— Sunil Deodhar (@Sunil_Deodhar) May 5, 2022
In May 2022, a chilling case of religious intolerance in Hyderabad when Nagaraju, a Hindu man, was brutally murdered in broad daylight for marrying a Muslim woman against her family’s wishes. Nagaraju had married his long-time partner, a Muslim woman, as per Hindu rites. However, her family—particularly her brothers—refused to accept the interfaith union. In a horrifying act of violence, Nagaraju was attacked with an iron rod and beaten to death on a busy street, right in front of his wife.
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