Second body unearthed from same well

HYDERABAD/NALGONDA : Three days after the body of a minor girl was recovered from an abandoned agricultural well in the Bhongir’s Hajipur village, the Rachakonda police have recovered skeletal remains of another teenage girl. Reportedly, the investigation was based on information provided by the accused in the former case, who was taken into police custody along with seven others on Sunday. On Monday, the police, along with teams from the fire department, excavated the skeletal remains of an 18-year-old girl from the abandoned well.

According to police, their interrogation of the accused revealed chilling details of other crimes he had committed, in addition to the murder and gang rape of the 15-year-old. The 15-year-old was reported missing on April 25 and her body recovered on April. Following this, the police recovered skeletal remains of the 18-year-old, who reportedly belongs to the same village and had gone missing in March 2019 and was also killed in the same month.  

Interestingly, the police had no record of a missing person complaint of the 18-year-old. Inquiries revealed that parents of the 18-year-old had assumed that their daughter had eloped with a lover, which is why they did not approach the police or even raise an alarm. The police are yet to uncover details of how the 18-year-old was killed. 

Further, there is yet another case of a missing girl from the same village in the recent past. “Though there is no confirmation if he (accused) is involved in more crimes, but we are not taking any chances and investigating all possibilities,” a police official told Express. 

The police confirmed that it is too early to determine if the 18-year-old was sexually assaulted, but they are not ruling out the option. “At this stage, our only source of information is his (accused) confession. We will interrogate him further to know more details, like the motive behind such heinous acts,” the Rachakonda police commissioner told Express. He confirmed that the sub-inspector of the district headquarter, Venkatesh, has been suspended in the light of the crimes, and added, “We  are collecting evidence to help solve the case.”