Days after being released on bail in a POCSO case, a 28-year-old man allegedly killed six people, including the 17-year-old girl complainant, her family members, and his own wife and two children, in Telangana’s Rangareddy district early on Saturday, police said, adding that the murders appeared to be an act of revenge.
Police identified the man as Raj Kumar. He was arrested on May 16 under the POCSO Act for allegedly sexually assaulting the minor girl. He was released on bail a couple of days ago, according to an officer from the Shahbad police station.
Apart from the minor girl, Kumar allegedly killed her 65-year-old grandmother, and 45-year-old mother, as well as his wife, Saritha (33), and his two sons, aged four and two.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that Kumar first murdered his wife and two children at his residence, before barging into the residence of the minor girl. He attempted to forcibly take the girl away and when her mother and grandmother tried to stop him, he allegedly stabbed both women to death,” the officer said.
“Later, Kumar took the minor girl to a location near Akhil Sagar lake on the outskirts of Daivalaguda, where he allegedly killed her by slitting her throat. There were signs of sexual assault on the girl and it is yet to be ascertained whether he raped her before killing,” the officer added.
Following the murders, Kumar reportedly called his father, Arun Kumar, and confessed to the alleged killings, telling him that he was also planning to end his own life. “His father immediately alerted the police, who rushed to the scene and launched an investigation,” the officer said.
The Shahbad police went to the village and sent the bodies for postmortem examination. Senior police officers from the Future City Commissionerate also visited the site.
“A case was registered, and an investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events and the motive behind the murders,” the official said.
