Three persons, including a five-year-old girl, were burnt alive when a person reportedly set ablaze a house at Dulla village in Kadiam mandal of East Godavari district in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The deceased were identified as K. Ramu (18), K. Vijaya Lakshmi (5) and Satyavathi (45). The girl’s mother, K. Durga Bhavani, and her two children were battling for life in the Rajamahendravaram Government Hospital.
The suspect, M. Srinivas, is absconding. The reason for the act was not known immediately, said Rajamahendravaram South Zone Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) M. Venkateswarlu.
Satyavathi and Appa Rao were staying with their son, Ramu (who died in the incident), at the village. Durga Bhavani came to her parent’s house for Sankranti festival.
“Srinivas, who too is a native of Dulla village, is the relative of Satyavathi. As per the CCTV footages, the suspect procured petrol in a nearby bunk around 1.30 a.m. and filled it in a bottle. He might have removed the tiles from the roof, poured petrol and set fire,” the DSP told The Hindu .
Special teams
Rajamahendravaram Urban district Superintendent of Police Semushi Bajpai constituted special teams to nab the suspect in the case.
“Six persons were sleeping in the house when the incident occurred. According to the villagers, Srinivas has done ‘recce’ before committing the offence. We will detect the case soon,” Mr. Venkateswarlu said.
