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Family of four found dead in Vizag flat
Hyderabad A family of four was found charred to death under mysterious circumstances at a flat in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam early on Thursday, police said
Hyderabad A family of four was found charred to death under mysterious circumstances at a flat in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam early on Thursday, police said.
The burnt bodies of Sunkara Bangaru Naidu (50), his wife Nirmala (44), and their children Deepak (22) and Kashyap (19) were found in their flat at Aditya Fortune Towers apartment in the upscale Madhurawada area in the city, police added.
Visakhapatnam commissioner of police Manish Kumar Sinha, who visited the spot, told reporters that the incident came to light when one of the residents noticed smoke billowing out of Naidu’s flat at around 4 am and informed the local fire station.
“The fire staff, who rushed to the spot, found the apartment locked from inside. They broke open the lock only to find all the four members of the family burnt,” Sinha said.
Residents informed P M Palem police station about the incident.
“While a short circuit was initially suspected as the reason behind the deaths, as the air conditioner and other electric appliances in the room were also found burnt, police turned wary after they found blood stains in the room,” the police commissioner said.
A senior police official probing the case said on condition of anonymity that the bodies of Naidu, Nirmala and Kashyap were found with severe stab injuries near the main door, hall and bed room, respectively. The body of Deepak, was found in the bathroom of one of the rooms.
“No injuries were found on his (Deepak’s) body and he was clad in a suit and tie. The dog squad and forensic team of the city police have visited the crime scene and collected evidence,” the official said.
“Prima facie, it appeared there was an argument between Deepak and other members of the family over some issue. This may have gotten out of hand . It appears that the elder son later tried to set the place ablaze and escape but in the process, he too was caught in the fire,” the official added.
The official also said that neighbours told the police that they heard screams around 2 am.
“The forensic team is collecting all evidence from the spot. The visuals obtained from closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras showed Naidu was the last one who entered the flat at around 8.56 pm on Wednesday night. After that, there is no information on what happened inside,” Sinha said.
The police commissioner said the family, from Gantwada village of Vizianagaram district, lived in Bahrain for four years before returning to Visakhapatnam eight months ago.
“The family was constructing a new house nearby and had taken the flat on rent ,” Sinha said.
During the course of the probe, police learnt that Naidu worked with a firm in Bahrain for about two decades. His wife Nirmala was a homeopathic doctor.
“Deepak completed his engineering from National Institute of Techonology (NIT), Warangal, and was believed to be preparing for Civil Services Examination.The younger son was a student of Class 12,” Sinha said.
“The family has no relatives and acquaintances in the area, so we couldn’t gather much information on Naidu. More details will be available after a thorough probe,” he added.
A case has been registered under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (hiding of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code.
