A 35-year-old man accused in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act case killed six people, including his wife, two young sons and a 17-year-old girl who had lodged a molestation complaint against him, her mother and grandmother in Telangana’s Rangareddy district, police said on Saturday.
The accused, P Rajkumar, a farmer from Devalagoda village in Shahbad mandal under the Future City Police Commissionerate, killed the victims at different locations late on Friday and is on the run, the police said, adding that they had launched a manhunt to track him down.
The deceased were identified as the minor girl, her 45-year-old mother, her 65-year-old grandmother, Rajkumar’s wife Sarita (33), and their two sons, aged four and two years.
Future City Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi said, “The accused Rajkumar was booked under Sections 11 and 12 of the BOXO Act on May 16 after the girl and her family filed a complaint accusing him of stalking and sexually harassing her. He was taken into custody for questioning on May 26, but since the offenses carried a punishment of less than seven years, he was released on personal bail of $20,000 after obtaining anticipatory bail.
Rajkumar first went to the girl’s house in Chabad town, where he allegedly killed her mother and grandmother while they were sleeping, Joshi said. “He then kidnapped the girl in a car and took her to his native village Devalagoda, where he allegedly slaughtered her near Akhil Sagar Lake,” he added.
The police said that the accused did not harm the older sister of the minor girl, who suffers from physical and mental disabilities.
Rajkumar then went to his house, about 250 meters from the lake, and killed his wife and two sons, who were all asleep, the commissioner said. Police said he used a machete and a knife to stab and slaughter the victims.
The police said that the accused called his father immediately after committing the crime, confessed to committing the crime, and told him that he would commit suicide, adding that he turned off his phone after that.
The accused’s parents then reported the matter to the police. Rajkumar fled the scene and is still on the run.
The six bodies were taken to the hospital for post-mortem examination.
The police commissioner said that Rajkumar, prima facie, apparently targeted the girl’s family to take revenge for the POCSO case against him. “His family members said he had become addicted to gambling, accumulated debt through loans, and was suffering from severe mental stress. The exact motive for the murder is still under investigation,” Joshi said.
The police registered two cases and formed 10 special teams to trace the accused using CCTV footage, mobile phone analysis, technical evidence and traffic plaza records.
Rangareddy District Collector C Narayana Reddy announced a reward of Rs $2 lakh for information that led to the arrest of Rajkumar and the suspension of a sub-inspector for alleged negligence in handling of the earlier Buxo case.
