Teen pushed off bridge by mom’s partner in Andhra Pradesh, rescued
The teenager, Lakshmi Keerthana, her mother, Suhani (35), and half-sister Jersey (1) were pushed off the bridge. Suhani and Jersey are still missing.
Published: 06th August 2023 08:16 PM | Last Updated: 07th August 2023 03:33 PM | A+A A-
Keerthana grabbed onto a plastic pipe after her mother’s paramour pushed her off a bridge in Ravulapalem. (Photo | Express)
KAKINADA: Police rescued a 13-year-old girl who clung on to a plastic pipe for dear life after being pushed from a bridge over the River Godavari at Ravulapalem by her mother’s partner in the wee hours of Sunday.
The teenager, Lakshmi Keerthana, her mother, Suhani (35), and half-sister Jersey (1) were pushed off the bridge. Suhani and Jersey are still missing.
According to police, after Suhani divorced her husband, she met 25-year-old Ulava Suresh. They entered a relationship and Suhani gave birth to Jersey. Their relationship turned bitter following frequent quarrels. Suresh then decided to kill Suhani and the two children.
On the pretext of buying a new car, Suresh took them to Rajamahendravam on Saturday. They left Tadepalli in a car around 9 PM and reached Ravulapalem Bridge around 3.40 AM. Suresh saw that there was neither traffic movement nor people on the bridge. Under the pretext of taking a selfie, he asked them to deboard the car. “Suresh pushed all three of them and fled the spot. However, he was unaware that Keerthana had managed to grab the plastic pipe installed for electric wires,” police said.
They explained, “Keerthana remembered that she had put her mother’s mobile phone in her pocket and immediately dialled '100' even as she was precariously holding onto the pipe. We narrowed down their location with the help of mobile phone signals and found her.”
Ravulapalem sub-inspector M Venkata Ramana, his five-member team, as well as the highway patrolling staff arrived at the spot within 10 minutes.
While one constable tried to keep her calm, another police officer rappelled down with the help of a rope and rescued Keerthana.
“A search operation has been launched to trace Suhani and Jersey even as the River Godavari is flowing in full gusto. Another team is on a manhunt for Suresh,” Superintendent of Police Sridhar informed the media.
