Man accused in POCSO case kills six people, including family and complainants in T''gana

Hyderabad, Jul 11 (PTI) A 35-year-old man, an accused in a POCSO case, allegedly killed six people—his two children and three other members of the family that had filed a complaint against him among them—in neighbouring Rangareddy district, police said on Saturday. The accused allegedly killed the victims at different locations in Shabad mandal late on Friday night, police said. P Rajkumar, a farmer, initially went to the house of the minor girl in Shabad town and killed her mother and maternal grandmother, who were asleep, Future City Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi told reporters. He then took the minor girl in a car to his native village of Dhaivalguda and stabbed her to death near a lake. The accused did not harm the minor girl's elder sister, a person with physical and intellectual disabilities, when he targeted the other family members at their house, police said. Rajkumar subsequently went to his house, about 250 metres from the lake, and killed his wife (in her 30s) and his two sons, aged four and one-and-a-half years, who were all asleep, the commissioner said. The man was booked under the POCSO Act in May this year for stalking and harassing the minor girl, based on a complaint filed by the girl's family. The minor girl's mother, in a complaint, had alleged that Rajkumar had been harassing her daughter for the past year and had also threatened to kill her if she refused to speak with him. He had recently secured anticipatory bail in the case, police said. The accused used a sickle and a knife to stab the victims and slit their throats. Immediately after the murders, the accused called his father and confessed to the crimes, telling him that he was going to take his own life, police said, adding that he then switched off his phone. The parents of the accused then reported the matter to the police. Rajkumar fled the scene and remains absconding. Police on Saturday announced a cash reward of Rs 2 lakhs for anyone providing credible information leading to the apprehension of Rajkumar. The six bodies were sent to a hospital for post-mortem examination. Telangana Minister for Panchayat Raj and Women and Child Welfare D Anasuya Seethakka directed officials to take stringent action against the accused, expedite the investigation, and ensure justice for the victims' families. BRS working president K T Rama Rao alleged that the Shabad incident is a clear testament to the state government's "failure". An accused in a POCSO case was granted bail even after the victim's family had repeatedly been telling that there is a threat to them from the accused, he told reporters. "Now the accused has killed six people. The state government, which is supposed to protect such victims, is not doing. It is a failure of the Home Minister and the state government," Rama Rao alleged. Seven teams were formed to nab the accused and are searching for him, the commissioner said, adding, “We will get (nab) him soon.” According to the available information, the accused was alone while carrying out the killings, he said. The exact motive for the killings is under investigation, the official said, adding that the full picture would be known once he is apprehended and interrogated. Investigators suspect a deep-seated grudge against the minor girl, but the motive behind killing his wife and two children is yet to be ascertained, police said. “As of now, we don't know why he killed his own wife and children,” Joshi said. The senior police official said the accused's family told police that he was addicted to gambling and had taken loans, which they believed had left him under severe stress. The accused had stalked the minor girl while she was returning home from college and had been harassing her to accept his proposal, police said. He was booked under sections 11 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and relevant sections of the BNS. After the POCSO case was registered, the accused had gone absconding from his village for two weeks and had subsequently filed for anticipatory bail in a court. As the offence carries a punishment of less than seven years, he was released on a personal bond, the commissioner said. The accused had then appeared before the police for counselling. Family members and relatives of the minor girl, along with several locals, held a protest on Saturday, squatting on the road in Shabad, demanding that the accused be killed in an encounter. They alleged negligence on the part of the police in handling the POCSO case. District authorities announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased minor girl and her mother and grandmother. A sub-inspector of police was placed under suspension over alleged negligence in handling the POCSO case. The protesters subsequently withdrew their roadblock protest. Two cases were registered in connection with the murders. PTI VVK VVK ADB