Hyderabad: Locals attack cops over six-year-old’s rape and murder
HYDERABAD: Hyderabad city police are continuing to hunt for Palakonda Raju, main accused in the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl, at Saidabad, on Thursday. The girl’s body was found in his locked house. The victim’s residents and locals protested in the area, demanding immediate action against the accused, resulting in tension in the area. In the scuffle, a few police personnel also received injuries.
While it is widely rumoured that the accused has been detained and is being questioned, police clarified that he is still at large and special teams are on the ground to nab him. According to the police, the victim and accused Raju were neighbours. Raju, who is an alcoholic, was residing with his wife and daughter and would frequently beat his wife. A week ago, he quarrelled with his wife and beat her. Due to this, she left for her parents’ place with their daughter.
Meanwhile, on Thursday evening, the victim was playing outside her house and went missing suddenly. Her parents approached the police. During the search, special teams found that Raju’s house was locked. On suspicion, they broke into the house and found the girl’s body inside.
However, Raju was not to be seen and his mobile was also switched off. Relatives of the girl and locals gathered in huge numbers and staged a protest in the area, which continued till midnight and even on Friday, forcing police to call in additional forces to control the situation. At one point, the protesters turned violent and pelted stones at the police, demanding that the suspect be caught immediately.
BODY FOUND IN RAJU’S HOUSE
The girl’s body was found in his locked house. The post-mortem examination, on Friday, revealed that the girl had been raped and throttled to death. The case was altered with charges of murder, rape and the POCSO Act.