Kurnool: A pregnant woman was mercilessly strangulated and killed by her lover for asking to marry her.

The incident took place in Yerraguntla of Dhone mandal on November 20 but came to light after the woman's mother lodged a complaint with the local police. The deceased, Ramijabi, was a divorcee and lived with her parents Lakshmidevi and Mallesh along with her four-year-old son Akhil Kumar. In order to sustain herself, she got a job with a local cloth stores. Soon, she fell in love with the shop owner's son - Sheikh Rashid (22). After sometime she lodged a police complaint stating that Rashid was refusing to marry her despite acknowledging their relationship. However, their elders intervened and the issue was settled without a police case.

Despite the intervention of elders, Rashid continued the relationship. As Ramijabi became pregnant, she again raised the issue of marriage with Rashid. He assured her that they can live happily together in Nandyal and on the pretext of starting a new life took her to Yerraguntla forest area on November 20. There, he strangulated and killed her. Rashid, then, buried the body in the forest area.

Meanwhile, unable to trace Ramijabi, her mother lodged a police complaint. During their investigations, police questioned Rashid who confessed to the crime. Since, the body was buried more than a week prior to the confession, a postmortem was conducted at the site of the burial itself. The body was handed over to Lakshmidevi and Mallesh for final rites. The murder has left Akhil Kumar searching for his mother.