27 stabs, Rs 1.54 lakh and a final word: How principal murder in Telangana's Nalgonda was solved

Two Class 10 students have been arrested in connection with the murder of their school principal, Kallu Rupa Reddy, in Telangana's Nalgonda district.

Key points

• Police afterwards recovered concerning Rs 1.54 lakh in allegedly stolen cash, described in reports as blood-stained, along with the principal's iPhone, from the suspects' possession.
• As reports indicate, allege that the teenagers targeted the principal's home for funds and stabbed her 27 times after she caught them during the robbery, police.
• Investigators say the students' extravagant spending habits and a crucial clue from the victim's final phone call supported crack the case.
• Investigators believe the teenagers afterwards suspected that the principal kept a substantial amount of cash at her residence, allegedly from school-fee collections.
• A key breakthrough reportedly came from the principal's final phone conversation with her aunt.

As reports indicate, the teenagers had developed expensive habits despite having limited means. They were allegedly spending heavily, consuming alcohol and had travelled to Goa regarding a month before the murder.

Meanwhile, the principal had previously triggered concern regarding their conduct. Police remarked she had identified cash and mobile phones hidden in their hostel bags and had confronted them in front of their parents over their alleged bad habits and spending. The students were subsequently removed from the hostel and created day scholars.

Investigators believe the teenagers afterwards suspected that the principal kept a substantial amount of cash at her residence, allegedly from school-fee collections. Police remarked they planned to rob the house to fund their lifestyle.

Meanwhile, a key breakthrough reportedly came from the principal's final phone conversation with her aunt. As the attackers entered her house, she was heard saying the word "babu" before the call abruptly concluded. Police reportedly knew that the principal commonly applied the term when addressing male students.

This clue led investigators to focus more closely on students connected to the school, eventually bringing the two teenagers under suspicion.

For context, the two minors have been arrested and the case is being handled under the juvenile justice system. Their legal proceedings will take place before the appropriate Juvenile Justice Board.

Taken together, the developments around 27 stabs, Rs 1.54 lakh and a final word: How principal murder point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.