Andhra Pradesh: Couple kills adult daughters to ‘appease supernatural forces’

Two sisters were killed by their parents, allegedly to “appease supernatural forces” in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor late on Sunday night, the police said.

The police has taken the parents into custody.

Ironically, the entire family is well-educated, the father is a vice-principal of a government college, while his wife, a gold medallist in mathematics, runs a private college.

The older daughter (27) was a forest officer. She returned home on leave during the pandemic and is said to be preparing for the civil services examination. The younger daughter (23) completed her post-graduation in business administration (MBA) and was pursuing a course in music.

Madanapalle deputy superintendent of police (DSP) R Manohara Chary told reporters, “Enquiries with the locals revealed that the family members were highly spiritual and were regularly performing puja at their home during the pandemic.”

He said for the last three days, too, the family had been performing some pujas at home. “On Sunday night, after the completion of a puja, the parents first killed their older daughter and then the younger daughter,” the police officer said.

Later, the father called one of his colleagues and informed him about the murders, who immediately informed the police. Apart from the DSP, inspector of police Srinivasulu and sub-inspectors Dilip Kumar and Rama Devi rushed to the house to inspect the scene.

The DSP said while the mother had killed the women, the father assisted her. “They appeared to be in a state of trance and were suffering from some psychological issues. They told us that their daughters would come alive after some time,” Chary said.

“Investigation is going on,” the DSP said.