- Sunday, November 24, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
DAYS after Telangana labour minister Malla Reddy remarked that the man accused of raping a six-year-old girl in state capital Hyderabad “will be killed in an encounter”, a body was found on the railway tracks around 130 kilometres from Hyderabad and the police believe that it is of Pallakonda Raju, the man had gone missing since the minor’s body was found in his home last week.
Hyderabad Police commissioner Anjani Kumar told Indian news channel NDTV that it seemed to be a case of suicide.
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Though the body was yet to be identified, Telangana Police, who shared its images on Twitter, said it had the same tattoos as the rape-murder suspect.
“We have reasons to think it is the suspect – tattoo marks on hands, name tattooed on his hand, his hair style…A fingerprint analysis will confirm it,” Kumar added.
#AttentionPlease : 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 deceased body. pic.twitter.com/qCPLG9dCCE— DGP TELANGANA POLICE (@TelanganaDGP) September 16, 2021
The body was found two days after Reddy said that the rapist and murderer of the child will be caught and it will be followed with an encounter.
As of now, only circumstantial evidence links Raju, 30, a neighbour of the deceased child, to the crime. The man was allegedly drunk and was known for “deviant behaviour” but had no criminal record.
The police had released his picture and announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for any information.
The kid was found dead in Raju’s residence a week ago and he had not been seen since then. The girl went missing from her home in Hyderabad’s Singareni Colony on September 9. Her body was later found wrapped in a bedsheet from Raju’s house the same day. An autopsy confirmed that she was sexually assaulted and strangled.
Reports came out the same day the accused had been arrested. However, it was found to be untrue and massive protests took place in the area. Some even sought “an encounter”, referring to shooting of criminals by the police.
State minister KT Rama Rao, son of Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, retracted his tweet on Tuesday (14) admitting that the culprit was not arrested.
Would like to correct my tweet below. I was misinformed that he was arrested. Regret the erroneous statement
The perpetrator is absconding & @hydcitypolice has launched a massive manhunt for him
Let’s all make our best efforts to ensure he’s nabbed & brought to justice quickly https://t.co/IVz9Ri7jzn
— KTR (@KTRTRS) September 14, 2021
“Would like to correct my tweet below. I was misinformed that he was arrested. Regret the erroneous statement. The perpetrator is absconding and Hyderabad police has launched a massive manhunt for him. Let’s all make our best efforts to ensure he’s nabbed and brought to justice quickly,” he posted, attaching his earlier tweet.
In December 2019, Hyderabad made the headlines after its police shot dead four men suspected of raping and killing a young veterinary doctor in the city. The men were in police detention and were taken to the scene of the crime where they were shot after they allegedly tried to steal the officers’ guns and escape, the police said.
However, human rights organisations like Amnesty International sought investigations into the incident to determine whether they were extrajudicial killings.
