A 35-year-old man in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district allegedly killed his wife and two young sons before murdering a 17-year-old girl who had filed a sexual-harassment complaint against him, along with her mother and grandmother.
The accused, identified as Rajkumar, first attacked his wife, Parvathi Saritha, 30, and their sons, aged four and one, at their home in Shabad on Friday night.
Police said he later went to the house of the teenage girl who had lodged a complaint against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act on May 16. He allegedly took her in a car to an isolated place and killed her.
Rajkumar is also accused of killing the girl’s 45-year-old mother and 65-year-old maternal grandmother. Her 20-year-old sister, who has a disability, was present at the house but was not harmed.
After the killings, Rajkumar reportedly called his father and confessed.
“He told his father that he had murdered them. He then switched off his phone and said he was going to die by suicide, but that has not been confirmed,” senior police officer Tarun Joshi said.
Rajkumar remains absconding. Special teams have been formed to trace him, and police said they had obtained leads.
Bail Granted Days Before Killings
Rajkumar and Parvathi had a love marriage in 2018. They had three children, but their first child, a daughter, died in infancy.
In May, police registered a case against Rajkumar for allegedly stalking and sexually harassing the 17-year-old girl.
Police said he followed her from a coaching centre to her home and pressured her to accept his proposal.
He initially went into hiding after the case was registered but later obtained anticipatory bail. He was released on a personal bond of ₹20,000 about a week before the killings.
Police said the sections invoked in the earlier case carried a punishment of less than seven years.
Behavioural Issues and Gambling Debts
According to police, Rajkumar had a history of behavioural problems and had been called for counselling on multiple occasions.
His family reportedly told investigators that his mental condition was unstable. Police also said he had a gambling habit and had accumulated debts.
Children Found Dead in Sleep
Relatives who entered the house said the two children appeared to have been killed while sleeping. Signs of a violent struggle were reportedly found in the room where Parvathi’s body was discovered.
Family members said the doors were locked from the inside, while the fan, air-conditioner and cooler were left running.
They also claimed there had been no major dispute before the incident and that Parvathi had spoken normally with relatives the previous evening.
Forensic teams have examined the crime scenes. Police are now reconstructing the sequence of events and investigating the exact motive behind the killings.
