Pranay Kumar, 24, was murdered in a suspected “honour killing” in India – just nine months after he married Amrutha Varshini, 23.
Police say the suspect, Amrutha's disapproving father, hired contract killers to butcher Pranay because he was from a lower caste family.
He was killed in broad daylight as the couple were coming out of Jyothi Hospital in Miryalguda town, 93 miles from Hyderabad, on Friday.
A man yet to be identified was captured on the hospital's CCTV as he attacked Pranay with a machete.
In the footage, a tall man is seen pouncing on the newlywed from behind before slashing his neck twice with the weapon, sending him crashing to the ground.
Desperate Amrutha is then seen running into the hospital as the suspect drops the machete and flees the scene, where Pranay died moments later.
A police officer told local reporters Amrytha's dad, T Maruthi Rao, is at the centre of their investigations, according to Mirrornownews.com.
He said: "We suspect the victim's father-in-law of hiring contract killers to execute Pranay since he did not approve of his daughter's marriage to the victim who hails from a [different] caste family."
Another officer added: "His (Maruthi Rao’s) cordial behaviour was a pretence; we feel sad that despite being aware of the problem we could not prevent it."
The couple married in January, despite opposition from both families.
Pranay was a Dalit Christian of the Mala caste (a lower caste) and Amrutha belonged to the Vaishya caste (a caste group categorised as Forward).
His parents recently accepted the marriage and hosted a wedding reception for the couple on August 17 – but Amrutha's family were still against the union.
Earlier media reports speculated that the murder was triggered by a wedding video Amrutha posted on Facebook.
Police also claim they questioned Amrutha's father in March, asking him whether he planned to use violence against his son-in-law.
He allegedly insisted that he didn't.
What is the India's caste system?
The caste system divides Hindus into hierarchical groups based on their karma (work) and dharma (duty).
It is generally accepted to be around 3,000 years old and divides Hindus into four main categories – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras.
Many believe the groups originated from the Hindu God of creation, Brahma.
The Brahmins were the highest of all the castes and were traditionally teachers and intellectuals. They were said to have come from Brahma’s head.
Next came the Kshatriyas – the warriors and rulers, supposedly created from the God’s arms.
Third place went to Vaishyas, or the traders, who were created from his thighs.
The Shudras, at the bottom of the heap, came from Brahma’s feet and did all the menial jobs.
Then, outside the caste system were the Dalits, who were considered the lowliest of people. They are traditionally regarded as “untouchable” and were associated with occupations “involving waste or carcasses”.
Deputy Superintendent of Police for Nalgonda Srinivas, who is investigating the case, told TNM: "I had my suspicions about the father and had warned the couple in August.
"I suspected some untoward incident could happen as the issue was caste related.
"When they held the reception in August, we gave out notices and had deployed a few police officers at the venue so that nothing bad happened.”
Amrutha has since told reporters that she believes her father and uncle are behind the murder of her husband.
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