SIT to probe death of Telangana Cong leader Rajaiah's family members in fire accident

A day after four members of senior Congress leader Sircilla Rajaiah's family, including his daughter-in-law and three grandchildren were burnt alive at the former MP's house in Warangal on Wednesday, a special team may be formed to probe the deaths.

According to reports, the smoke was first noticed around 5 am by some municipal workers cleaning the street, who raised an alarm and tried waking up residents of the house, including Rajaiah and his son Anil. However, it was not until some neighbours jumped over the wall and broke open the door of Sarika's portion, that the politician woke up and called the fire station, who found her burnt to death with her three children.

Sircilla's daughter-in-law had married his son in 2002 but the family has witnessed turbulent times. Sarika had earlier filed a case of dowry and even staged a sit-in outside her father-in-law's house.

Sircilla Rajaiah won the Warangal MP seat in 2009 elections as a Congress nominee, but lost it in 2014 elections to Kadiyam Srihari, who was later promoted to the post of Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana.

Within a few hours of the incident, the Warangal police, arrested Rajaiah, his wife Madhavi and son Anil Kutook and booked them under sections of the IPC dealing with, husband or relative of husband subjecting a woman to cruelty and abetment of suicide of the Indian Penal Code.

The complaint was registered by Sarika's mother Lalitha and sister Archana, who alleged that her death was 'murder' by Rajaiah and his son.

"Evidence has been collected, and only after a thorough inquiry can the reason for the fire be established. It is too early to say whether the deaths were a result of suicide or something else," Warangal range inspector-general of police Naveen Chand told the Times of India.

The police commissioner also told reporters that a special investigation team would be set up to probe the incident.

Rajaiah, who was scheduled to file his nomination as a candidate for the Warangal bypoll for the Congress, was dropped by his party, who went with former Union minister of state Sarve Satyanarayana.