Police on Tuesday arrested the accused who had allegedly killed a 20-year-old girl from Anantapur town nearly a week back. Police said they will write to the government for attachment of the property of the accused as well as stopping all government benefits to the family of the accused to send a strong message that heinous crimes against women and children will be dealt with severely.
With allegations of laxity in investigating the case, Anantapur I Town Inspector Rajendranath Yadav was placed under suspension, the police said.
Speaking to reporters here, Superintendent of Police P. Jagadeesh said the accused, 27-year-old Kuruba Naresh of 6th Road in the Anantapur town, is a tiles worker at construction sites. He was married four years back and doesn’t have any children. Naresh was working at a construction site at Ramakrishna Colony in the town where he got acquainted with the victim girl, who lives in the locality, three months back.
On June 3, at around 9 p.m., the girl left home on the pretext of buying a soft drink as she was suffering from stomach pain. As she did not return, the family members searched for her and lodged a missing complaint the next day. Police issued a lookout notice and informed all the police stations about the missing girl and started investigation.
On June 7, the body of a girl was found on the outskirts of the town under Kuderu police station and it was later identified as that of the victim, the SP said. Police enquired about the victim with her friends and neighbours and found that she was in friendship with Naresh. “The girl was pressurising Naresh to marry her. Naresh, who was already married, wanted to get rid of the victim and took her to the isolated place on the outskirts of the city where they used to meet frequently and killed her,” Mr. Jagadeesh said. Naresh smashed the girl’s head and the back with a boulder leading to her instant death.
The SP said initially the parents of the girl have lodged complaint against another person and the investigation revolved around that person. “Since there were allegations of delay, we are suspending the Circle Inspector. Though investigation was done in a proper manner, it should have been done better,” the SP said.
On the steps to prevent such crimes, the SP said they would write to the government for attachment of properties of the accused. “Similarly, we will also recommend for stopping all government benefits to the family,” he said.
Mr. Jagadeesh said they had increased patrolling at isolated places to prevent such crimes and also educating girls and women about their rights at educational institutions and workplaces. Women and girls can approach Shakti teams and can complain or give information about any illegal activities on WhatsApp number 7993485111, he said.
Published – June 10, 2025 06:58 pm IST
