Hyderabad, April 15
In a tragic incident six members of a family, including two children, were hacked to death using a sickle and a knife by a neighbour in early hours of Thursday in Juttada village in the outskirts of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
The accused has been identified as Appalaraju, who lived in the same neighbourhood and had nurtured a grudge against the family of the victims since 2018. Besides one man, the dead include three women, a two-year-old boy and a six-month-old baby girl. He has since been arrested.
V Sripad Rao, Assistant Commissioner of Police (West), Visakhapatnam said the police was trying to ascertain the involvement of someone more than Appalaraju as one man could not have killed four adults and one child without any struggle and resistance.
“The victims were lying in a pool of blood and were discovered around 6 am on Thursday. The murder appears to have taken place two hours earlier. They were all lying in a pool of blood. Appalaraju is a neighbour of the deceased and an ongoing property dispute between their families has come to light.”
The dispute between the families dates back to 2018 and originated from a relationship between Vijay, the head of the victim’s family and the daughter of the accused. A case was pending against Vijay. The victims are Vijay’s wife, children, father and aunts, police have revealed.
Rao said, “Since the altercation in 2018, the two families have not been on talking terms. The issue further deteriorated and led to this incident,” he added.
Locals said that an altercation had taken place between the two families the previous night that led to the murder. Sources also said that it was not a property dispute but an alleged extramarital affair between Vijay and the daughter of the accused that led to the murder.
The deceased have been identified as Bommidi Rammana (63), Bommidi Usharani (35), Allu Ramadevi (53), Nakella Aruna (57), Bommidi Uday (6), Bommidi Urvisha (6 months).
