HANAMKONDA: A man has been taken into custody and is being questioned by police over the death of his pregnant wife and two daughters at Punnole village in Inavolu mandal.
While the bodies were discovered in a swimming pool on Thursday morning, suggesting accidental drowning, it is alleged that the accused, Md Azharuddin, killed them after finding out, through illegal sex pre-determination tests, that his wife was going to give birth to another daughter.
The victims were identified as Farhana (26) and her two daughters, Umera (9) and Ayesha (5).
According to the complaint lodged by Sk Ali, Farhana’s father, Azharuddin, a cement brick manufacturing unit owner, had taken the family to a private real estate layout on the pretext of his daughter’s birthday celebration. While the exact method of the alleged crime is not yet known, Ali claimed that Azharuddin tried to portray it as a case of accidental drowning when he informed family members and relatives on Thursday morning.
However, when they reached the spot, they found froth coming out of the victims’ mouths and suspected foul play. They immediately informed the jurisdictional Inavolu police, who rushed to the spot and shifted the trio to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Warangal, where doctors declared them dead.
The complaint also stated that Azharuddin had earlier forced Farhana to undergo abortions twice after learning that she was carrying girls. After discovering that she was pregnant with another girl, he allegedly began harassing her and frequently quarrelled with her. Ali alleged that Azharuddin hatched a plan to kill them and portray it as an accident.
Warangal Commissioner of Police Sunpreeth Singh inspected the spot and instructed officials to conduct a scientific analysis to determine the exact cause of death and complete the investigation at the earliest.
Speaking to the media, Parvathagiri Circle Inspector B Rajagopal said that a case has been registered based on the complaint of Sk Ali. The bodies have been sent for postmortem at MGM Hospital. Azharuddin has been taken into custody and is being questioned, he added.