HYDERABAD: The Shamshabad Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) team on Saturday apprehended an interstate offender who murdered an elderly woman and her nine-year-old granddaughter. The accused, identified as Divakar Sahu from Bihar, fled with gold ornaments belonging to the victims after committing the crime.
The victims, Erragari Parvathamma, 60, and Madhepuram Bhanu Priya, were residents of Nandigama. Parvathamma’s husband had passed away seven years ago, while one of her two sons had also passed away, and the other son had left the house long ago. Parvathamma worked as a helping hand in a nearby Anganwadi school.
Since she lived alone, she had convinced her sister to let her granddaughter stay with her during the night. The young girl not only provided companionship but also assisted Parvathamma with household chores.
In April, Divakar, along with his wife Anjali Devi, had rented Parvathamma’s house. Due to frequent quarrels between Divakar and his wife, Parvathamma had asked them to vacate her house. Holding a grudge against her for the eviction and having knowledge about the valuable ornaments she possessed, Divakar patiently waited for an opportunity to seek revenge.
On Friday, in the early hours of the morning, Divakar left Parvathamma’s house and entered the compound unnoticed. He then proceeded to strangle her and struck her head with a brick. The terrified Bhanu Priya witnessed the horrifying act and started screaming, prompting Divakar to attack her with the same brick and inflict a fatal injury to her neck using a knife. After committing the crime, Divakar fled the scene with the stolen gold ornaments, police said. Divakar has been remanded in custody for further investigation, they added.