HYDERABAD: If there was a gas leak, which led to the fire in the house, won’t the inmates cry for help? Why was the gas cylinder kept in the bedroom and not anywhere else? Was it empty? Were servants inside the house? Questions are many but answers are few.
Investigators, probing the mysterious deaths of former Congress MP Siricilla Rajaiah’s daughter-in-law Sarika and her children in Warangal, describe it as a complex case. They are trying to find out whether servants were present in the house at the time of the tragedy. At least two drivers and one servant were present in the house, police sources confirmed.
“It is a bungalow and a couple of servants are usually present in the house, mostly in the servant quarters, at all times. We will question them. All that the locals saw were flames and this is surprising as anyone caught in such a situation would have shouted for help,” explained an investigator.
Another theory the police have in mind is whether Sarika and children were first given any sedative or poison. “Normally, if the victims are given poison or sedative, the body turns slightly blue. But in this case, the bodies are completely charred and therefore, it will take sometime for us to know whether they were given poison or sedatives,” he said. Even the door was closed from inside.
The police are also clueless on whether the gas cylinder found in the room (where the four were found charred to death), was empty, though unconfirmed reports suggested that it was. “We have to figure out why the cylinder was kept inside the bedroom and why not in the kitchen or elsewhere,” he said.
However, sources said that the police has reliably learnt that there was an argument among the family members on Tuesday night.
“There was an argument over the Begumpet case (where Sarika had lodged a complaint). The argument was essentially over naming of the woman in that complaint. But again, besides Sarika, her children and Rajaiah, his wife and son, we do not have a third witness to this,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Additional DGP, Law and Order Sudeep Lakhtakia told Express that since this was a complex case, the postmoterm report would take time. ‘’Normally, post moterm reports take 48 to 72 hours but in this case, the viscera needs to be sent for forensic examination as the bodies are completely charred,’’ he said.
Asked whether Rajaiah, his wife and son were arrested, Lakhtakia said unless the police had sufficient evidence, there can be no arrests. “Rajaiah and others have been brought to the police station for questioning and once it is over, he may be allowed to go and asked to come again tomorrow.”He said that based on the complaint from Sarika’s parents, the police have registered cases of dowry harassment, mental trauma and abetment to commit suicide.