Hyderabad, August 06: Three workers from Andhra Pradesh and another Indian were killed when a police officer went on a shooting spree in three different locations in Kuwait on the first day of Ramzan on last Monday. The Indian embassy on Friday confirmed the deaths of the four Indians.
They were identified as Nallagutta Ramanaiah, Tokala Naresh Kumar, Masagiri Obul Reddy and Rambeem. All the four were shot dead by the mentally unsound officer of the ministry of interior, Hytam Al-Hazeri, who was later arrested by the security men.
While Naresh Kumar hailed from Naguvarivandlapalle village in Kadapa district, Ramanaiah belonged to Aggivaaripalle village in CM Kiran Kumar Reddy’s home district of Chittoor. Naresh went to Kuwait two years ago and is survived by wife Nagalakshmi and a one-and-a-half year old son. Ramanaiah went to Kuwait in search of job a year back. His wife Nageshwaramma is also working in Kuwait. The couple have three children.
During interrogation, the suspect confessed to his crime and told the interrogators that he used a shotgun to kill Naresh and Obul at Kabad area because he found them eating 10 minutes before Iftar around 6 pm on that fateful day.
He told the cops that he killed Ramanaiah at his father’s house in Saad Al-Abdullah and the other one in Salmi area. He also tried killing his father’s housemaid, an Ethiopian, but she managed to run to her room before he fired at her. However, the suspect did not explain as to why he shot dead the workers in Saad Al-Abdullah and Salmi.
During questioning, the killer reportedly told detectives that he was suffering from a psychological illness, which had worsened after his wife left him, taking their seven children with her and returning to her family’s home. Sources said the suspect asked his wife to leave their house in Saad Al-Abdullah and took their children with him. Sources added the children were in his car while he was firing at his victims.
Sources said the police officer was on sick leave for two years as he was found suffering from mental illness and was confined to the psychiatric hospital for two weeks. It’s a mystery as to how the hospital authorities had released the suspect, considering his health condition.
Sources said the security forces rushed to Kabad after receiving a call from a water tanker driver who saw the bodies of two AP workers inside a livestock farm that belongs to the family of the alleged killer when he had gone there to deliver water.
The two victims died on the spot from fatal gunshot wounds to the head and chest, with the killer shooting them at least 12 times.
The accused was arrested three hours later from the Sabah health area near the psychiatric hospital. The officer was tracked down by GPS and arrested near the hospital, with the murder weapon being found near his car.
Meanwhile, the Indian embassy has taken possession of the passports of Ramanaiah and Naresh. The bodies of these two victims were lying at Kabad police station, while that of Obul and Rambeem were at Taima police station.
The embassy has contacted the relatives of Ramanaiah and Naresh and is making the necessary arrangements to send the bodies to AP, sources said. The interior ministry officials told the Indian embassy authorities that that the bodies would be released to them only after the post-mortem.
Demanding severe punishment to the killer, the Migrants Rights Council said the tyranny of the cop should be condemned by one and all.
“He killed four innocent workers in cold-blood. He must be punished for his actions,” P Narayana Swamy of MRC said.
-Agencies