Hyderabad girl rape and murder | Suspect Raju found dead on railway track

A massive manhunt was launched for Raju and the Hyderabad city police have also announced a cash reward of ₹10 lakh for any information leading to his arrest.

September 16, 2021 11:21 am | Updated September 17, 2021 10:36 am IST - Hyderabad

Onlookers at the site where Raju ended his life in Station Ghanpur on Thursday.

Onlookers at the site where Raju ended his life in Station Ghanpur on Thursday.

A massive manhunt launched by the Telangana police to nab the only suspect in the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl at Saidabad ended on Thursday morning, with his body being found on the railway tracks between Station Ghanpur and Naskhal railway stations in Jangoan district of Telangana, 125 km from here.

Speaking to The Hindu , Additional Director General of Police (Railways and Road Safety) Sandeep Shandilya said that around 9 a.m. a railway keyman Sarangapani and two farmers noticed a man hiding in the bushes. “Minutes later, he jumped in front of the Mumbai-bound Konark Express and ended his life. Later he was identified as Raju, the absconding suspect in the rape and murder case of a little girl in Hyderabad,” he said.

The Government Railway Police registered a case under Section 174 (Police to enquire and report on suicide, etc.) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and launched a probe.

 

The body was shifted to State-run MGM Hospital in Warangal for autopsy. The deceased was absconding since September 9 after the minor girl’s semi-naked body was found at his residence in Saidabad. The girl was his neighbour.

“The accused of Child Sexual Molestation and murder @ Singareni Colony, found dead on the railway track, in the limits of #StationGhanpurPoliceStation. Declared after the verification of identification marks on the deceased’s body,” Director General of Police M Mahender Reddy tweeted.

While IT and Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao tweeted: “Just been informed by @TelanganaDGP garu that the beast who raped the child has been traced & found dead on a railway track at station Ghanpur.”

 

Meanwhile, narrating the incident that led to the death of Raju, Warangal Commissioner of Police Tarun Joshi said that around 9.58 a.m. Station Ghanpur police received a Dial 100 call informing about an unidentified dead body on the railway track and soon a team went to the spot. Accordingly, as the police were looking for Raju for the last few days, the team had all the details about his identity marks, background, clothes and other features. “We compared them and found that this person was the same fellow Raju involved in the offence in Hyderabad,” Dr. Joshi said.

According to him, the information about the suicide was given by railway employee Sarangapani,who was checking the track and he found a man walking on the track. “Though he tried to get him out of the track, the man started running. He was run over by Konark Express and died on the spot,” he said, adding that the deceased person’s identity was confirmed by the family members too. Quoting eyewitnesses statement, the Commissioner said ‘it is clear case of suicide’.

 

Since the last one week, the Hyderabad City Police have launched a search for Raju and also announced a cash reward of ₹10 lakh for any information leading to his arrest. As part of the massive manhunt, posters declaring Raju a ‘WANTED’ man were pasted on autorickshaws, buses, at toddy compounds, wine shops and all public places across the State.

Ironically, the cops started removing the posters from buses, autorickshaws, and other public places on Wednesday evening. On September 9, the minor had gone missing from her home in Saidabad, and hours later, her body was recovered from Raju’s house, who was her neighbour. The autopsy at Osmania General Hospital confirmed that she was ‘sexually assaulted’ before she was strangled to death. The victim’s mother suspected Raju to be the culprit as he too was missing from his house.

 

The heinous incident triggered widespread outrage in Hyderabad and elsewhere in the State with various political parties and youth groups staging protests demanding justice for the minor girl. While Labour Minister Ch. Malla Reddy said the suspect will be arrested and “encountered”, the Opposition has criticised the State government and police force over the delay in the probe.

Meanwhile, on Thursday morning, Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali and Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod visited the girl’s family and handed over a cheque of ₹ 20 lakh.

[Roshini — Suicide Prevention Helpline: 040-66202000]

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