Police ignored warnings before POCSO accused allegedly kills six, including minor girl and own family members: Report
Rangareddy (Telangana) [India], July 11 (HBTV): In a shocking incident on Friday night, a POCSO Act accused allegedly killed a minor victim, her mother, and her grandmother under the Shabad police station limits in Rangareddy district. Following the attack, the accused also allegedly killed his own wife and two children.
He then alerted his family members via a phone call, stating that he had finished off both families and intended to commit suicide. The accused is currently absconding. Police have launched a search operation to apprehend him and are actively investigating the matter.
According to a police official, 'Yesterday, Raju Kumar, 35, an accused in a POCSO case, allegedly killed six people. The victims include the minor girl, her mother, her grandmother, his wife, and two children. After committing the crime, he informed his parents, who then alerted the police. We are currently investigating the matter and searching for the accused. The bodies have been shifted to the mortuary for post-mortem examination.'
The accused was previously booked in a POCSO case and was out on bail. The victim's family resides in Shabad. The accused is a native of Raiwalaguda.
The maternal uncle of the minor girl, who was allegedly murdered alongside five others by a POCSO Act accused in Telangana's Rangareddy district on Saturday, accused the local police of gross negligence, claiming that multiple complaints warning of death threats to the family were ignored.
Speaking to ANI, the victim's uncle, Naresh, alleged that the family had repeatedly flagged the escalating danger to their lives after registering a stalking case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against the accused, 35-year-old Raju Kumar.
'We had booked a case under the POCSO Act because he was harassing the minor girl. Even after the case was filed, he openly threatened to kill all our family members within two days. We informed the police and filed a complaint saying he had threatened to kill everyone, but they neither took him into remand nor conducted a proper inquiry,' Naresh said.
Alleging serious lapses in the investigation, Naresh stated that the accused managed to secure anticipatory bail shortly after the initial complaint in May and continued to roam the area freely, terrifying the family.
'After a week, we asked the police what action had been taken. His family members knew where he was, but the police kept saying they could not trace him. Even after we informed them that he was roaming around Shabad and threatening us, no effective action was taken,' he alleged.
Holding the law enforcement authorities directly accountable for failing to intercept the suspect, Naresh demanded the immediate suspension and punishment of the officers involved.
'Now he has done exactly what we warned the police about. Police negligence is the main reason. The officers responsible should be suspended and punished. Three lives from our family have been lost because of their negligence,' he said.
Following the mass murder, grief-stricken family members and local residents staged a protest outside the Shabad police station, shouting slogans and demanding action against the police personnel for allegedly failing to prevent the tragedy despite prior warnings.
According to the report, on Friday night, the accused, Raju Kumar, a native of Raiwalaguda, allegedly drove to Shabad town and attacked the minor girl's house at around 10:45 PM. He reportedly stabbed the teenager's 42-year-old mother to death when she opened the door, murdered her 60-year-old grandmother while she slept, and forcefully abducted the minor girl in his car. He later allegedly stabbed the teenager to death and dumped her body near a local lake bund.
The accused then allegedly returned to his own home at 11:21 PM and slit the throats of his 31-year-old wife, his four-year-old son, and his 18-month-old son while they were asleep.
According to senior investigators, the accused later called his father, allegedly confessing that he had 'finished off both families' and intended to die by suicide. The suspect's parents immediately alerted the police control room.
The Telangana Police have launched a manhunt and deployed multiple special teams to track down and apprehend the absconding accused. The bodies of all six victims have been moved to the government mortuary for post-mortem examinations, and further investigations are underway.
(ANI)