NELLORE: Greed and superstition reportedly prompted a 37-year-old man to perform a ritual that killed his four-year-old daughter at Perareddypalle in Atmakur, Nellore, police said after arresting the man and his mother on Monday.
Identifying the accused as Kandra Venugopal and K Dorasanamma (56), investigators said YouTube videos motivated the man to conduct the rituals. He heard about the video from some people in his locality.
Disclosing the details of the case, Atmakur Police Circle Inspector G Venugopala Reddy said the videos made Venugopal believe that sacrificing a child would bring him huge wealth. Convinced, the man decided to sacrifice one of his twins, Punarvika, so that would become rich.
Venugopal discussed the plan with his mother Dorasanamma, who reportedly supported his move to gather wealth. Motivated by the YouTube videos he asked his mother to take his other child, Purvika, to a temple on June 15 morning.
Once Dorasanamma left for the temple with Purvika, Venugopal began the rituals inside his house. He asked Punarvika to lie down before an idol, and allegedly told her to consume vermilion and turmeric powder as part of his alleged plan to strangle her.
Meanwhile, Dorasanamma returned from the temple after leaving her granddaughter there. She tried to prevent the neighbours, who responded to Venugopal’s loud chants and the child’s screams, from entering their house. The woman reportedly told them that a puja was being held to end their poverty.
The neighbours barged in, and found the girl unconscious. Achyut, a relative of Venugopal, rushed the girl to a private hospital in the town. Later, she was shifted to a hospital in Chennai, where she breathed her last the next day. Police registered a case and launched a search operation for the accused, who were arrested from A S Peta Crossroad in Atmakur town on Monday. Venugopal was not well-educated, and had been a manufacturer of cement blocks.
4-yr-old breathed her last in a Chennai hospital
Achyut, a relative of Venugopal, rushed the four-year-old to a private hospital in the town. Later, she was shifted to a hospital in Chennai, where she breathed her last on June 16