Tadepalli: A visually impaired girl was stabbed by a man, who used to harass her, at NTR Katta in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. The incident occurred a stone's throw away distance from Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy's official residence. The 17-year-old girl, who lost her eyesight at the age of seven, lived in Tadepalli with her mother and aunt. Her father, who lives near Gannavaram, left her when she was young while her mother works as a domestic help.
The accused, identified as Nagapogu Dayanandaraju alias Kukkala Raju (30), lives in the neighbourhood. The victim's family members alleged that after the girl's mother and aunt left for work Raju came to their house and misbehaved with her. They alleged that Raju also harassed another 13-year-old girl in the area. After learning about the incident when she returned home, the girl's mother confronted Raju, but he denied it.
At around 9.30 pm on Sunday, when the girl was alone, Raju barged into the house with a knife and stabbed her. The neighbours informed the mother, who came and found her daughter lying in a pool of blood. She was rushed to Vijayawada Government Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries at 5.30 am on Monday.
Locals said Raju has a criminal background and misbehaved with women. Around three years ago, a case of murder attempt was registered against him for attacking a police head constable. Recently, he misbehaved with another woman, they alleged. The victim's family said that if the police acted tough against him in the past then the incident could have been prevented.
The incident has raised serious security concerns as the area is located near the CM's residence. Complaints have poured in connection with police inaction over the easy accessibility of drugs and crimes being committed in an intoxicated condition. The victim's family alleged that police did not reach the spot immediately after the incident. The case could be lodged only on Monday morning and police took the details from the girl's family after her death, they said.
A similar incident of crime against the woman was reported near CM's residence earlier. On June 20, 2021, three persons gang-raped a young girl, who had come for a vacation on the banks of the Krishna river with her fiancé. Ramalingam Venkata Prasanna Reddy, the second accused of that heinous crime, has still not been arrested by the police. Those accused had committed the crime under the influence of ganja.
