ONGOLE: The police have arrested the main accused in the sensational mother and child double murder case. District Superintendent of Police (SP) Siddharth Kaushal presented the accused A Koteswara Rao, the husband of the murdered woman before the media here at his office on Thursday evening and explained the case details.
He said on December 3, the bodies of an unknown woman (20) and an 11-month-old child were found in a field adjoining the Pernamitta-Marellaguntapalem Road. Eye witnesses said that a man had hit the woman on the head with a stone and slashed the child’s throat with a knife, killing them both on the spot. Later, he doused their bodies in petrol and set them on fire after which he fled on his bike. Based on the report of the Village Revenue Officer (VRO), Maddipadu police refiled a case and the Ongole rural Circle Inspector began investigation.
Facing immense media scrutiny, the district police formed special teams to conduct investigation across the district in order to identify the deceased duo. Their particulars along with the suspect’s profile and portrait were shared on print and social media announcing that `1 lakh cash reward would be given to anyone who can provide their details.
The deceased were finally identified as Sri Lakshmi and her daughter Vaishnavi, residents of Addanki by their relatives.
They claimed that Lakshmi’s husband and in-laws may be responsible behind the heinous crime. Police checked the CCTV footage of the day of murder and found that the husband fits the profile of the murderer.
For the past few months, Koteswara Rao was suspecting his wife’s fidelity and claimed that their daughter was not his.
Prior to her death, Sri Lakshmi called her sister Jayalakshmi and said that her husband was doubting her fidelity and torturing her. He had also threatened to kill her. On December 9, Jayalakshmi called Koteswara Rao and asked him to give the telephone to Srilakshmi in order to speak to her. He replied that he was at the hospital and would ask his wife to call him in the evening. On Thursday, he was arrested near the agricultural market yard and his statement wasrecorded. The accused pleaded guilty to his crimes.
Koteswara said that he hatched the plan to murder his wife and child sometime back. On December 3, to create an alibi, he turned up at his workplace as usual. Later, he took his colleague’s bike and went home, quarrelled with his wife and took her along with their daughter to the crime scene and killed them. He also sustained minor burns, while burning the bodies. He returned to work by 6 pm and registered his attendance.
The SP appreciated Investigation Officer DSP- Ongole KVVN Prasad, Ongole rural CI P Subba Rao, Addanki CI Ashok Vardhan, Maddipadu SI SK Khader Basha, SI Kothapatnam M Srinivasa Rao for their dedication in solving the case.