Vijayawada, January 31: Posing a challenge to Vijayawada city police, three miscreants kidnapped a schoolgirl in a filmi style by killing car driver Lakshmana Rao in broad daylight here Saturday.
The incident occurred on the new BRTS road at Satyanarayanapuram railway quarters around 8.15 a.m.
When Vaishnavi (9) studying Fourth Class and her brother Sai Tejesh Gowd (14) studying Ninth Class, children of BC Ikya Vedika leader and liquor trader Palagani Prabhakar, were proceeding to NSM High School in their car. Three motorcycle- borne miscreants followed the vehicle on the BRTS road and one of them broke the rear glass of the car with a stone.
As soon as driver Lakshmana Rao stopped the car to question them, two of them pounced on him and stabbed him to death. Shocked by the incident, Sai Tejesh, sitting in the front seat of the car escaped through a nearby lane.
The miscreants tried to follow him but they gave up the chase, as the boy vanished into one of the houses and later drove the car along with Vaishnavi leaving behind their motorcycles at the place of offence. The motorcycles bearing the registration number of one from Patamata area here and another a fake number and supposed to be a stolen vehicle.
The kidnappers abandoned the car near Kunchinapalli village of Guntur district after crossing Prakasam barrage and believed to have left in another vehicle towards Vinukonda side.
A special team formed to trace the girl searched the houses of some suspects at Sitanagaram.
Commissioner of police KV Rajendranath Reddy personally visited the place. Police officials of Guntur district and Vijayawada city are combing Guntur district to nab the kidnappers.
Meanwhile, Prabhakara Rao said he has no enemies and expressed surprise over the kidnap of his daughter. He appealed to the kidnappers to release his daughter safely.
However, no phone calls were received by Prabhakara Rao from the kidnappers till this evening. It is learnt a kidnap attempt was made on Prabhakara Rao’s children four years ago. Residents of Vijayawada Vaishnavi were shocked over the kidnap.
–Agencies