Hyderabad, January 26: Ever since his distant cousin K Venugopal Reddy ended his life for a separate Telangana, Mekala Raghuma Reddy, a diabetic, stopped taking food and medicines. Confining himself to his room, Raghuma Reddy kept weeping sitting in front of Venugopal Reddy’s photograph.
Coming out of his self imposed confinement, Reddy went out of his house on Sunday and since then his worried mother, Jaya Lakshmi, has been praying for his well-being.
When the suicide bid by one Ravinder Reddy flashed in news channels on Monday morning, Jaya Lakshmi was pained at another youngster laying down his life for separate Telangana.
However, when the victim was being identified with different names, she began fearing that it could be her son. And minutes later her worst fears were confirmed.
Speaking to Expresso, Jaya Lakshmi said she informed her husband, Narasimha Reddy, about the news flash, but he had brushed aside her apprehensions.
“As we stepped out of our house holding a photo of Raghuma, the local BJP ward member, Narasaiah Goud, came running and gave us the tragic news. He told us that Raghuma was rushed to the Gandhi hospital after the suicide bid,” Jaya Lakshmi said.
According to her, Raghuma Reddy left his house in Uppal at 8 am on Sunday.
Around 1 pm, Reddy called his mother and informed her that he was safe and asked her not to call him on his mobile as the battery had discharged. He said he would return by evening.
But when he did not do so, she tried to contact him at night but in vain.
“Later, we called the number from which Raghuma had phoned us earlier but it turned out to be that of a public booth at the MGBS.
Raghuma had vowed not to take food and medicines until Telangana was formed,” Jaya Lakshmi said.
For the couple, this was the second jolt in their life.
They had already lost their elder son, Ramesh Reddy, in a road accident recently.
In the suicide note, Raghuma wrote, “I am committing suicide even though you had already lost one son. If I do not take this step, elected representatives of the Congress might take back their resignations.
Sorry for my decision.” Family alleges delay in treatment: Meanwhile, at NIMS, Reddy’s family members alleged that the hospital authorities did not treat him for four hours as they could not deposit money.
Reddy was initially treated at the Gandhi hospital but was later shifted to NIMS.
Jaya Lakshmi alleged that the doctors had asked them to pay Rs 5,000.
“Even the catheter, which got detached, was not rearranged.
A student who visited Reddy informed TRS MLA KT Rama Rao and other leaders about the situation.
It was only after they called up that the treatment was started,’’ she said.
Venugopal’s death a case of suicide
Police have reportedly come to a conclusion that K Venugopal Reddy’s death on the Osmania University campus is a case of suicide.
Venugopal Reddy was found dead with burns near the Tagore auditorium a few days ago.
Though police found a note, purportedly written by Venugopal Reddy, they registered a case of suspicious death and started investigating whether it might be a case of homicide.
The letter, in which Reddy wrote that he was committing suicide fearing that separate Telangana might not be a reality, was sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratories for verification of handwriting.
The FSL reportedly found that the handwriting on the note tallied with that of Reddy’s handwriting, sources in the Central Crime Station, which is probing the case, said.
–Agencies