HYDERABAD: A day after 43-year-old Rajitha Reddy’s body was found disposed 60 km from Hayathnagar on the railway tracks while her own daughter was accused of killing her, the investigation entered murkier waters on Wednesday.
The police now have reasons to believe that Rajitha’s daughter, Keerthy, and her boyfriend Sashikumar strangulated Rajitha after she found the duo drunk and compromising position inside the house. According to the police, on the day of the incident, when Rajitha returned home from the market, she was infuriated to find beer bottles in the house. She then also walked in on Keerthy and Shashi kumar getting intimate and chided her daughter. The duo then allegedly suffocated Rajitha using a dupatta.
“Rajitha shouted at Keerthy allegedly for having a relationship with Sashikumar. Earlier, Keerthy closely moved with another person Bal Reddy and wanted to marry him. Though initially, the family did not like the match, the family finally consented to their marriage and even fixed a date for engagement,” the police said. Meanwhile, as the parents were busy preparing for her engagement with Bal Reddy, Keerthy was coming closer to Sashikumar and began avoiding Bal Reddy.
In a new twist, the police found that Keerthy, whose engagement was fixed with Balreddy, was shifted to a clinic in the city by Sashikumar. Keerthy was pregnant and had to get the pregnancy terminated. When Keerthy’s mother found out about her pregnancy, she was shocked and brought this to the notice of her husband Srinivas Reddy, a truck driver, who was usually away from home.
Then Sashikumar allegedly took Keerthy to Amangal in erstwhile Mahbubnagar district where her pregnancy was terminated at a private clinic. Sashikumar allegedly signed the papers as Keerthy’s husband. The police, however, yet to verify this claim.
After Rajitha’s murder, Keerthy went to her fiance Balreddy’s home and spent a couple of days while she informed her father, Srinivas Reddy, that she was going on a trip to Visakhapatnam. According to police, Srinivas Reddy returned home from a routine road trip only to find his wife missing. Suspecting something fishy, Srinivas immediately alerted the police.
Police to reconstruct the crime scene with the accused
Meanwhile, the police have already taken Keerthy and Sashikumar into custody for the murder and are now reconstructing the crime scene with the accused. The police will take the accused to the place where Rajitha’s body was found and also to the hospital where Keerthy’s pregnancy was terminated. After obtaining technical evidences in connection with the case, the police is expected to officially arrest them on charges of murder.
Sources further stated that Keerthy was influenced by Sashikumar who stated that his father was a senior government officer in Mahbubnagar and possessed huge properties. Sashi kumar, a B.Tech graduate, allegedly promised Keerthy that he would take up civil contract business after marrying her. Earlier, Sashi Kumar’s father, who worked in the irrigation department, was caught by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials for indulging in corruption.
When the incident came to light, what shocked the police most was that after killing Rajitha, Keerthy and Sashikumar lived for three days in the house with the body without any qualms. The police found on Sashikumar’s mobile their pictures in varying stages of intimacy.
Terminated pregnancy?
In a new twist, the officials have found that Keerthy, whose engagement was fixed with Balreddy, was shifted to a clinic in Hyderabad by Sashikumar. They are looking to confirm claims that Keerthy was pregnant and had to get the pregnancy terminated