A 49-year-old man allegedly killed six persons of a family, including two children, to avenge the alleged rape of his daughter, at Juttada village of Pendurthy mandal on the outskirts of the city on Thursday morning.
The murders have sent shock waves among the people of the village. The relatives of the victims along with the local residents staged a protest demanding immediate hanging of the accused.
The accused, Battina Appalaraju, allegedly attacked the six persons with a scythe. All of them died on the spot.
The deceased were identified as: Bammidi Ramana (57), Bammidi Usha Rani (30), Allu Ramadevi (53), mother of Usha Rani, Nakettlu Aruna (37), a relative of Usha Rani, Bammidi Uday (4) and Bammidi Urvasi (6 months), both children of Usha Rani and Vijay Kiran.
Usha Rani, who was living with her husband Vijay Kiran and her children in Vijayawada, came to her father-in-law Ramana’s house at Juttada to vote in the MPTC polls and stayed back in the village to attend a wedding.
Appalaraju went to the house early in the morning and killed them one after the other, according to sources.
Counter complaints
Appalaraju bore a grudge against Vijay Kiran (30) as the latter had allegedly raped his daughter after giving her soft drink and tea, mixed with intoxicants, on several occasions prior to April 9, 2018. The victim had lodged a complaint with the police on the above date alleging that Vijay Kiran had called her to his house and had sexual intercourse with her after giving her drinks, laced with intoxicants, according to the police.
She had also alleged that Vijay Kiran’s wife Usha Rani had blackmailed her by showing her photos and demanded money from her. She had also named four others in her complaint for cooperating with the prime accused, the police said.
A charge sheet was filed by the police on January 31, 2019 and the case is pending trial.
Usha Rani had also filed a counter case with the Pendurthy police on April 10, 2018, alleging that Battina Appalaraju, Battina Srinu, Battina Gowrish and Battina Sanyasi Rao had abused her in obscene language and threatened to kill her husband. A charge sheet was filed in this case on August 20, 2018 and it is pending trial.
Police Commissioner Manish Kumar Sinha visited the scene of crime.
Pendurthy police have taken the accused into custody and are investigating the case.
