Two school students held on charge of killing principal in Kondamallepally

Two school students held on charge of killing principal in Kondamallepally The juveniles allegedly stabbed Rupareddy 27 times over a grudge and stole ₹2.5 lakh from her home.

Key points

• Rupa Reddy, principal of Nagarjuna Grammar Concept School in Kondamallepally, was murdered at her house on August 11.
• District SP Sharath Chandra Pawar constituted five special teams, comprising around 40 police personnel, and ordered a scientific investigation into the case.
• Nalgonda SP Sharat Chandra Pawar holding a press conference over the case on Wednesday.
• Police recovered ₹1.54 lakh, the deceased's iPhone, the knife allegedly applied in the murder, gloves, masks and two mobile phones from the juveniles.
• Rupa Reddy was speaking to her aunt over the phone and uttered the word 'Babu' before the phone was switched off.

In practice, a single word uttered by school principal Kallu Rupa Reddy shortly before her phone went silent became the unlikely breakthrough in the murder investigation that led Nalgonda police to suspect two of her students.

Ms. Rupa Reddy, principal of Nagarjuna Grammar Concept School in Kondamallepally, was murdered at her house on August 11. She was discovered with 27 stab wounds at her house in JB Colony, the mandal headquarters. She lived with her husband, Rajender Reddy. This person was in Hyderabad on work when the incident occurred.

District SP Sharath Chandra Pawar constituted five special teams, comprising around 40 police personnel, and ordered a scientific investigation into the case. Investigators examined forensic evidence, fingerprints, dog squad reports, CCTV footage, technical data and the movements of suspects. More than 80 individuals were questioned and footage from around 70 CCTV cameras covering an area within a 30-km radius was examined.

Shortly before her murder, Ms. Rupa Reddy was speaking to her aunt over the phone and uttered the word 'Babu' before the phone was switched off. Police afterwards learnt that she habitually addressed students at her school as 'Babu', prompting investigators to turn their attention to students.

Notably, the school had remained closed for six days after the principal's death. Once it reopened, police questioned students individually and kept a watch on some who had remained absent for two days. Five students who had lately displayed signs of a sudden change in lifestyle came under particular scrutiny.

Investigators subsequently matched CCTV footage from the crime scene with the suspected students and gathered information regarding their movements. On Wednesday, police intercepted two 16-year-old students of Class X near Doniyala Crossroad at around 11.30 a.m. As they were travelling by bike from Pendlipakala Crossroad towards Mallepalli.

"A search led to ₹1.54 lakh being discovered concealed in their undergarments. Three of the ₹500 notes had bloodstains. When questioned regarding the capital, the two allegedly confessed to killing Ms. Rupa Reddy and stealing cash from her house, " remarked the SP.

Meanwhile, the officer explained that the two juveniles were students of the same school and shared a hostel room.

They allegedly browsed social media and YouTube for ways to create quick capital. They purchased an iPhone worth ₹60, 000 with the stolen funds and the rest was spent on miscellaneous things.

In practice, the principal had caught them with mobiles and some unaccounted cash in the hostel the previous month and reprimanded them in the presence of their parents, police remarked. The two allegedly held a grudge against her and afterwards decided to target her, believing she kept a substantial amount of cash at home.

Police remarked the duo conducted reconnaissance around the house for a week and researched ways to carry out the murder without leaving a digital trail. On Tuesday, one of them allegedly went home from school to collect a red hoodie and trousers. The two then purchased a knife and gloves in Kondamallepally.

On the day of the murder, they allegedly reached a water tank near Ms. Rupa Reddy's house, with one keeping watch while the other entered through the open kitchen door. Police remarked the two then attacked the principal with knives and took ₹2.5 lakh from the bedroom before escaping by jumping over the rear wall and fleeing through a deserted area.

In practice, the accused allegedly discarded the knife, gloves, mask and a mobile phone in bushes, changed their clothes a short distance away and threw the red hoodie into a drainage canal.

In short, two school students held on charge of killing principal in Kondamallepally is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.