The Hayathnagar police station Sub-Inspector Murali Mohan did not go to the house of engineering student, G. Varalakshmi, soon after receiving information about the burns she sustained on January 31.
He went to her house in Laskharguda of Hayathngar the next day. “The SI spoke to two of the student's woman family members but failed to ascertain their version by cross-checking with the neighbours or villagers,” sources in the special team of Cyberabad police probing into her death said.
Informed by the Gandhi Hospital staff about the burns sustained by the student, a head constable of the police station Habeeb first went there in the afternoon and recorded her statement. The student's statement was recorded by the magistrate concerned three hours later as her condition deteriorated.
By evening 6 p.m. on January 31, the First Information Report about the student sustaining accidental burns was issued based on her statement that she caught fire when she lighted the gas stove to prepare tea. On February 1, the SI visited the student's house but did not thoroughly examine the kitchen where she claimed to have caught fire, senior officers of Cyberabad police felt.
The girl succumbed to her burns while undergoing treatment around 2 p.m. on February 2. The same day post-mortem was conducted and the body was handed over to her relatives. Meanwhile, reports started doing rounds that the girl's death was not an accident but she burnt herself to death allegedly dejected over failing to pay college fee.
The special team headed by Cyberabad DCP, Crimes, Ramakrishnaiah visited Varalakshmi's house twice on Monday and spoke to her family members.
They also inquired with her college authorities. It is learnt that four students of the college belonging to Scheduled Castes were alerted by the college management to clear the fee.
Two of them later applied to the government for fee reimbursement and the third paid the fee. “It seems Varalakshmi did not apply for fee reimbursement reasons for which are not yet known,” the investigators said.
