Hyderabad: In a shameful yet inhumane incident a husband throttled his wife and their four-year son and later set their dead bodies ablaze at their home to cover up the crime in Sangareddy District on Wednesday.
Van driver Ch Venkat Reddy allegedly murdered his wife and son after she refused to sell her four-acre plot, TOI reports.
The deceased identified as Ch Kavita (28) was married to Venkat a native of Bijulwadi village in Nanded district of Maharashtra in 2009. The accused killed their 4-year-old Dinesh Reddy fearing he would reveal his crime.
“Venkat, a Toofan maxi cab driver, had tried his hand at business, but failed. He was addicted to alcohol and after spending Rs 20 lakh he got from selling his 2 acres, he wanted his wife to sell the four acres in her name. When she refused, he killed her to secure ownership,” Narayankhed DySP R Satyanarayana said.
The Dy SP Raju said: “Venkat set the bodies ablaze using kerosene and left the house around 2.30pm on Wednesday. As the windows and door were closed, there was little sign of smoke and neighbours did not sense anything wrong.
“He returned home drunk around 9pm, pretended to be shocked on seeing Kavita and Dinesh dead in the house and ran crying to his neighbours. We were later alerted by the sarpanch around 10pm,” added the Dy SP.
The accused initially refused to accept that he committed the double crime but later confessed to the crime once he sobered up on Thursday.
The deceased’s family lodged a complaint against Venkat. He was arrested under IPC Section 302 (murder).