Telangana: Couple in their 50s burnt alive for performing black magic'
Hyderabad: A couple accused of sorcery and set ablaze in a Siddipet village succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment at Secunderabad's Gandhi Hospital on Friday. The police are investigating the leads and the suspects who hail from the same village.
The suspects, a group of around 30, assaulted Sudershan, his wife Rajeswari and their children severely, tied the husband and wife to an electric pole and set them ablaze.
Kadavergu Sudershan, 56, and Rajeswari, 52, were residents of Dubbaka village. Sudershan used to run a provision store and Rajeswari used to make beedi at home. The couple had three daughters and a son. Two of them were married, and the couple was staying with their son Sridhar and daughter Renuka.
A few months ago they had disputes over a piece of land with Sudershan’s elder brother Srinivas. Srinivas’s family spread rumours that Sudershan and his wife were engaged in sorcery and that is the reason why many families in the colony were having serious problems.The rumours spread and a couple of days ago, colony residents warned them to leave the village and also threatened them with violence.
“We got frightened. We wanted to leave the village and my father was making arrangements. But on Thursday morning a big group barged into our house and beat us up severely. We told them that we are leaving the village but they did not listen to us,” Sudershan’s son Sridhar said.
The family approached Dubbaka police station to lodge a complaint, but before they could file it Sudershan’s brother Mallesham intervened and told them not to lodge a complaint. He told the police that it was a family matter and they will solve it themselves.
Later, the couple and their children returned home, packed their articles and locked up their house to leave the village. While they were waiting for a vehicle to shift their belongings one of their neighbours, Karunaker, objected and started abusing him. Soon others joined him and started beating up the couple and their children. They later tied them to an electric pole and set them ablaze. When the couple started screaming, the suspects fled from the scene. Police rushed to the spot and shifted them to hospital. The couple died at the Gandhi hospital in Secunderabad.
Police registered a case of murder and unlawful assembly and detained some suspects for questioning.“In the morning the victims had given in writing that they do not want a case. Around 10 persons are involved in the incident. We are examining eyewitnesses to zero in on those involved in the incidents. Based on that we will take action,” Siddipet police commissioner V. Shivakumar said.
