Andhra couple, who killed daughters, arrested; mother continues to be unstable
The superstitious mother of two girls, whom she and her husband had murdered as part of eccentric rituals with a hope to resurrect them later, continued to be in an unstable condition on Tuesday. After being produced at a court, V. Purushotam Naidu, a lecturer at a government women's college, and his wife V. Padmaja, a mathematics teacher in Masterminds IIT Talent School, were sent to the Madanapalle jail on a 14-day remand.
"They are highly educated people, but they continue to be excessively religious," said a police officer probing the case.
On Tuesday, Padmaja was taken for a coronavirus test, where she was found to be talking about the pandemic and spirituality which others could not understand. She was made to sit on a chair as a healthcare worker tried to take her swab, but she continued to behave strangely with unconnected gestures.
Earlier, Naidu lit the pyre of his daughters while sobbing inconsolably.
Police suspect that the family had apparently been following certain occult practices for some time.
It was the mother who bludgeoned the daughters to death, one of the daughters was tonsured before she was killed. The man remained a spectator as his wife went about the alleged killings.
The younger daughter was first killed with a trident. Then, the elder one was bludgeoned with a dumbbell.
Police sources said the couple had actually planned to kill themselves as well to prove that they would come back alive but the timely entry of police personnel averted the possible suicide.
The couple's elder daughter Alekhya (27) had completed a diploma in forest studies from Bhopal, while younger daughter Sai Divya (22) studied BBA. Divya was also a student at the A.R. Rahman Music School in Chennai.
According to the police, the parents as well as the daughters were devotional to the extent that they thought God will save them come what may.
Most of the neighbours are still in disbelief and reminisced how exemplary the family was in happier times.
