7-yr-old burnt alive

Hyderabad, June 03: In a dastardly act, a seven-year-old girl, Sujatha, was burnt alive by assailants in Venkatagiri Colony, Road Number 10, Jubilee Hills, on Tuesday evening.

Jubilee Hills police said Sujatha came to Hyderabad from Mahbubnagar for her summer vacation, a month ago. She had been staying at her grandmother Lakshmi’s house in Venkatagiri Colony and used to regularly visit her aunt J Padma’s house in the vicinity.

On Tuesday at around 4.30 pm, Sujatha, daughter of a shepherd in Mahbubnagar, went to Padma’s one-room penthouse located on a two-storeyed building. According to police, Padma claimed two unidentified persons came to her residence at around 6.30 pm. They first went into the bathroom, which is beside the lone room in which they stay.

“Padma claimed the duo entered their room and forcefully closed her eyes. One of the assailants tied the hands and legs of the girl with a cloth and blindfolded her. Then they doused the girl with kerosene and set her ablaze,” Jubilee Hills sub-inspector B Ramaswamy told.

The girl’s body was charred beyond recognition.

Though Padma claimed the incident happened at around 6.30 pm, police was intimated about it only at 8 pm. Police suspect Padma’s role in the chilling murder. She has been taken into custody for questioning.

Jubilee Hills police registered a case under section 302 (Murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

-Agencies