A missing girl case has turned into a murder investigation for Tirumala police. The missing 5-year-old girl identified as Radha was killed by her stepmother and was buried in an open ground in Tirumala nearly a year ago. The police today arrested the stepmother Jyothi on murder charge. The incident came to light on Sunday, after accused confessed to have committed the crime during the interrogation by police.
According to police, K Devaraj a native of Ediga in Karnataka, shifted to Tirumala with his two wives Uligamma and Jyothi and three children. Devaraj
Uligamma used to work as daily wagers at construction sites, while Jyothi used to take care of the children. On August 26 last year, Jyothi took Radha to a hospital. She returned home in the evening alone, claiming that Radha had gone missing.
The family launched a search operation to find her. With the night-long search not bearing any fruit, Devaraj approached Tirumala police the following day. A few weeks later Devaraj and his family returned to his native place. On May 10 this year, Urban SP R Vijayalakshmi while reveiwing the pending cases came across the case file. She ordered Inspector Tulasi Ram to reinvestigate the case. On her direction, a police team went to Ediga and bought the family members to tirumala on suspicion. Jyothi broke down during interrogation and confessed of killing her stepdaughter Radha and buried the body in an open place between Bata Gangamma Temple and Venugopala Swamy Temple in Tirumala.
“Jyothi said she strangled the girl with a “chunni” and buried the body in the open place. The body will be exhumed with the help of forensic experts as it has been nearly a year since the crime was committed. The forensic experts will help identify the body” said Inspector Tulasi Ram.