LINGARAJUPALLI : The fields located on the outskirts of Lingarajupalli, resembled a graveyard, with hundreds people from the hamlet and its neighbouring village Pallerla gathered to mourn the death of one Amboji Naresh (23), the youngster who was allegedly killed by his father-in-law.
Venkataiah, father of Naresh, a Mumbai-based dabba wala visited his native Pallerla in Telangana, only after learning that his son had gone missing for five days. Shaken after hearing about his son’s death, Venkataiah questioned as to why police took so long to nab the accused.
Bribe claims
Naresh’s family members alleged that Srinivas Reddy had bribed the Bhongir police, as they suddenly took the latter’s side. “When police called him for enquiry, Reddy accepted that Naresh was with him (Srinivas Reddy) and the next day, he and police dismissed us and told us to find him ourselves,” said Venkataiah.
“What did my son do? Marrying a girl from upper caste is such a big crime? Several men belonging to upper castes have married women from lower castes, then why was it not seen as a crime. My son was very innocent,” said an inconsolable Venkatiah prostrating before the spot where his son was burnt.
Naresh’s elder sister Neelamma, who lives in Solapur said “I was the the only person who spoke to Naresh for the last time. After coming to Hyderabad, he told me that Swathi had gone along with her father and that he was going to our aunt’s house in LB Nagar. After that, there was no clue about him and his phone went untraceable and we are now sitting beside his ashes.”
Two more bodies found
At around 5.30 pm, a forensic team visited the spot and collected the clues from the spot where they found the remains of Naresh, which was quite close to the spot where a couple of other bodies were burnt. The commissioner also said that they have learnt about the Bhongir police’s poor investigation of the missing case filed by Naresh’s father, adding that they would initiate action against the erring officials.
Row over Srinivas Reddy’s ‘criminal background’
“Srinivas Reddy is a criminal, who also faces allegations of killing his own parents over land. We need justice. We have lost our son and we demand that the state government inquire into his criminal background,” said Naresh’s father.
However, Rachakonda police said that they have looked into the allegations, but they were found false. “Srinivas Reddy has a criminal background, but he was not involved in the murder of his parents. The murders were done by Reddy’s relatives,” said Rachakonda commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat during a press conference.