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Celebrations broke out in Andhra Pradesh’s Annamayya district after a man accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a seven-year-old girl was found dead. At Madanapalle city, Anamayya district headquarters, several burst fireworks and cheered his death.
The prime accused, Kulavardhan (27), who had been absconding for the past 24 hours, was found dead in a water tank in Kanasanivaripalle village, where he allegedly assaulted the child. Her body was found on February 17 close to the accused’s residence. Kanasanivaripalle is half an hour away from Madanapalle city.
The accused, who worked in Neerugattuvaripalle’s powerloom sector, is believed to have gone into hiding after committing the crime on the night of February 16.
Six police teams carried out an intensive manhunt. More than one thousand people staged protests in Madanapalle, demanding the extrajudicial killing — popularly known as ‘encounters’ — of the accused.
“After the child’s body was retrieved, a serious law and order problem developed. The highway and several roads were blocked by protestors,” Annamayya Superintendent of Police (SP) Tuhin said. Several people, including the child’s parents, gathered on the Kadiri-Tirupati highway to protest.
“There is no CCTV footage in this area. No sub-collector or police official visited us. There has always been an issue with the accused and he is known in our area as someone who has misbehaved with women in the past. The police system has failed us," the child’s father said.
Several protestors and local leaders also demanded the extrajudicial killing of the accused.
Once the accused's body was found, the child’s father asked to see it as proof of death. “We haven’t seen his body. So we don’t believe it. We also believe that his mother was involved in the case and we need her to come and meet us,” he added.
Kulavardhan’s body has been shifted to Madanapalle’s government district hospital.
Addressing the media on February 18, SP Tuhin Sinha said that as per preliminary reports, Kulavardhan died by suicide but added that officials are still awaiting the autopsy report. “Further investigation into the case is ongoing,” the SP said.
He also said that a case had been registered in the past against the accused under section 324 (causing voluntary hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).