VISAKHAPATNAM: Four of a family were charred to death in their apartment at Midhilapuri colony in Madhurwada in the wee hours of Thursday. The victims have been identified as Sunkai Banaru Naidu (50), Nirmala (44), Deepak (22) and Kasyap (19).
The incident took place on the fifth floor of the apartment. A woman in the family's neighbour noticed smoke emanating from their apartment and immediately alerted the others.
The police and fire personnel who reached the spot broke open the door and found that the four were lying dead. Though initially it was suspected that the fire broke out accidentally, the police found bloodstains on the walls.
Visakhapatnam City Commissioner Manish Kumar Sinha, who visited the house, said there were injuries on the bodies of the father, mother and younger son but there were no injuries on the body of the elder son Deepak. The commissioner further informed that there were disputes between the eldest son and other members of the family.
Forensic teams have collected the evidence and the reason behind the incident will be known after further investigation, he said.
Police suspect Deepak might have murdered his family before ending his life.
In another incident, six of a family fell prey to old rivalry as they were brutally murdered by a person belonging to another family at Juttada in Pendurthi Mandal on the outskirts of the city around midnight on Wednesday.
Tension prevailed in Juttada following the heinous crime due to rivalry between the two families. The accused B. Appalaraju and his family were said to have disputes with the family of Bommidi Ramana for quite some time.
Appalarju allegedly entered Ramana's house and axed all six members of the latter's family to death. Apart from Ramana, three women and two children were among those killed.
The police have taken the accused into custody.
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