COVID nearly wipes out family of slain Telugu police officer

Hyderabad: The surging COVID-19 pandemic has caused untold miseries for many households and even completely wiped out some families – the family of police officer G. Krishna Prasad, who was killed by suspected terrorists in Hyderabad in 1992, has lost at least five members over the last one and a half months.

Krishna Prasad’s wife Jankai, daughter G. Deepthi and son G. Vivek were all infected by Covid-19. Jankai was admitted to a hospital with lung infection and succumbed on May 4.

Fifteen days later, her daughter lost her battle against Covid at a hospital in Secunderabad. Deepthi, 41, was serving as the General Manager in the Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation (TSMDC).

According to Deepthi’s relatives, she was admitted to hospital last week with low saturation levels. As her condition started deteriorating, she was kept in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). However, she too succumbed to the pandemic late Wednesday.

Deepthi’s last rites were performed at Bachupalli on Thursday. Her brother Vivek has recovered and is the only surviving member in the family.

The siblings’ paternal uncle Janardhan Rao and aunt Mary also died of Covid in Hyderabad recently, while maternal uncle Veerabhadra Rao succumbed to Covid in Guntur in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Krishna Prasad, then Additional Superintendent of Police, Special Intelligence Branch, was killed on November 29, 1992 when suspected terrorists hiding in a house in Hyderabad opened fire. Prasad’s gunman Venkateswar Rao was also killed in the attack, which took place when the officer was raiding an alleged hideout of the terrorists.

Prasad hailed from Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.

Deepthi, who was selected for Group-1 in 2007, worked in the Audit Department for five years and later served in the Employment Generation Marketing Mission. In 2018, she was appointed General Manager (Sales & Marketing) in the TSMDC. She was known as a dedicated officer who discharged key responsibilities in departments like online sand sale and e-office. Her husband Vikas Bansode is a well-known lawyer.