Man kills son & daughter near Kurnool district

A man drowned his seven-year-old son and slit the throat of his four-year-old daughter after suspecting them to be the outcome of his wife’s extramarital affair, in a sordid saga that unfolded near Kurnool on Monday.

Bhanoji Rao (35), a resident of Jupadu Bungalow in Pagidyala mandal of Kurnool district, turned himself in at the local police station and reportedly confessed to killing his children, circle inspector Madhusudhan Reddy said, adding that Bhanoji’s wife Jhansi Lakshmi Bai had reportedly eloped with her lover a few days ago.

In his statement to police, Bhanoji said he and Lakshmi got married 10 years ago, and had two children. The couple was happily married until things took a downturn when Bhanoji reportedly came to know of his wife’s infidelity. He told police his wife had a “string of affairs with other men”, claiming that he had warned her to mend her ways but in vain.

The couple then began to have



nasty altercations, which eventually resulted in them going to the police about 15 days ago. The police for their part counselled the couple to set aside their differences and sent them home.

However, Lakshmi decided to elope with her lover a few days ago, leaving behind her husband and two children. Bhanoji then suspected that his wife’s lover might be the real father of their children, and decided to kill them.

Bhanoji first drowned his son in a water storage tank near his home and later slit his daughter's throat with a blade. Likhitha (7) and Madhu (4) were killed on the spot, police said.

Bhanoji attempted to end his life but surrendered at the local police station after he failed to do so.

Police reached the crime scene and shifted the bodies of the children to the local government hospital for an autopsy and registered a case.