A father from Telangana has appealed to state and central authorities for justice and police protection following the suicide of his son at Hyderabad's Hussain Sagar Lake in February.
Surasani Venkateshwar Reddy, the father of the deceased Surasani Sitaram Reddy, told ANI that explicit videos involving his daughter-in-law, Renuka, and another individual, Ramana Reddy, had been circulated on social media in September 2025, profoundly affecting his son.
He explained, “In 2018, we got him married to Renuka, from Kothapalli village in Nandyal mandal, Nandyal district. After the marriage, they lived in Bengaluru for a year, then in Markapuram for a year, and eventually settled in Bachupally, Hyderabad. They were fine after settling down. However, in September 2025, Renuka made explicit videos with her boyfriend, Ramana Reddy, and forwarded them to him. Ramana Reddy then shared them on social media, where around 2,200 people viewed them publicly. Unable to bear seeing that, my son Sitaram Reddy came to Markapuram. The girl, Renuka, went to Nandyal.”
He added, “A month later, her elders, her father and uncle came to Markapuram to talk. After arriving, they said, ‘The girl made a mistake, please forgive her. This will never happen again; we will make sure of it.'”
Despite family discussions aimed at reconciliation, tensions persisted. Reddy stated that his son passed away after alleged harassment and mental distress related to the marital dispute.
He said, “I told them, ‘That girl has a habit, and she will never change. This won’t work out. I want you to grant a divorce.’ They replied, ‘No, it won’t happen like that. We will take care of it.’ I insisted, ‘Since she has this habit, if it’s not him, she will go with someone else. A divorce is necessary.’ But they pleaded with me. Finally, I said, ‘Alright, let me tell you one thing. Find out if she actually likes this Ramana Reddy. If she does, get her married to him and send her away. As for our son, we will keep the children and get him married again, or we will just take care of the children ourselves.’ They said they would find out and left.”
The father continued, “A month later, they called again and said they would come to talk. When I asked my son, Sitaram Reddy, he said, ‘Dad, Renuka spoke to me. The children are crying, I will adjust and live with them.’ I told him, ‘I am 100 per cent against this. They will kill you. You cannot go back like that.’ He replied, ‘No, Dad. Whatever my fate is, that is what will happen. I will go.'”
Reddy said the situation deteriorated in the days before the incident. On February 8, the victim allegedly posted a suicide note on social media before jumping into Hussain Sagar Lake.
He recalled, “We thought things were running smoothly. Around Sankranti, I asked them to come to Markapuram, Andhra Pradesh, for the festival. He said, ‘No, Dad. I am going to Goa. My father-in-law and others are planning to do something to those guys… I am leaving for Goa.’ I told him, ‘No, son, they won’t do anything. Just come here.’ But he said his mind wasn’t at peace and went to Goa. Three or four days after he returned from Goa, the girl left their 26-month-old crying baby locked in the house and left. If Sitaram Reddy hadn’t been there, that child would have died too. When he called me, I told him to file a police complaint first and then inform her father. He did, and they came over. For the next 10 to 12 days, her father, mother, and brother-in-law stayed at my son’s house,” Reddy said.
He added, “While they were there, on February 8th at 6:00 PM, my son wrote a suicide note, posted it on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook, and jumped into Hussain Sagar Lake and died.”
Reddy said police have arrested two suspects and called for the investigation to be expedited and others named in the FIR to be apprehended.
“Following his death, we filed a complaint against 11 people. The FIR and suicide note are dated February 8, 2026. He named eight people in his suicide note. An FIR was filed against 11 people because his mother-in-law, father-in-law, and brother-in-law stayed in his house for 12 days, subjecting him to severe mental and physical torture. As for what the police have done so far, they have arrested two people and are saying they are investigating and will catch the rest. The authorities must speed up the investigation and arrest everyone immediately,” he said.
He appealed to the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as well as the Union Home Minister, for police protection for his family, alleging threats from relatives of his daughter-in-law.
“Because our lives are in danger, I am requesting protection. I am also making this same plea to the Union Home Minister. Our family is facing a threat to our lives, and I pray that you provide us with protection,” he said.
The police investigation into the case is ongoing.