ANANTAPUR: A woman was killed and another injured in an alleged predawn robbery at two neighbouring houses at Kadiri Town here on Tuesday. The incident came to light when a domestic help arrived at Venkataramana’s house in NGO Colony. The helper found the door unusually open, and on checking, found tea vendor Venkataramana’s wife Shivamma unconscious and bleeding through her mouth. Venkataramana had left for his tea shop when the robbers struck.
Police said the miscreants had locked up his son and daughter-in-law in their bedroom before beating up Shivamma and escaping with valuables. The domestic helper raised an alarm, and neighbours, who responded, became suspicions when no one from the adjacent house came out to check the commotion.
A teacher couple, Shankar Reddy and his wife Usha, were living in the house, police said. On checking, the neighbours found the door opened, and Usha, 49, lying dead in a pool of blood inside. They alerted Reddy, who had gone for his routine walk around 5 am, and the police.
Senior officers, including superintendent of police (SP) K Fakeerappa, visited the scenes, besides forensic experts and a dog squad. The SP has formed five teams to probe the incident. Searches were conducted at several lodges and transit points. Police were suspecting professional criminals behind the incident. Shivamma was initially taken to the government hospital here. She was later shifted to Bengaluru for better treatment.