New twist to family's suicide involving T'gana MLA's son

Hyderabad, Jan 6;  In a new twist to the suicide of a businessman, his wife and their two daughters in Telangana's Bhadradri Kothagudem district three days ago, a selfie video recorded by him before taking the extreme step has surfaced.

M. Naga Ramakrishna made serious allegations against Vanama Raghavender Rao, son of a legislator Vanama Venkateswara Rao.

Naga Ramakrishna (45), his wife Sri Lakshmi (40) and their daughter Sahitya (12) died while another daughter was injured when they set themselves afire under a suicide pact at their home in Paloncha on January 3. Sahitya's twin sister Sahiti succumbed to her injuries on January 5 while undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

Police had recovered suicide note of Ramakrishna, in which he had named his mother mother Suryavati, his sister K. Lova Madhavi and Raghavender Rao as the persons responsible for his family's death.

According to police the businessman wrote that they have taken this step as injustice was done to them due to an affair between his sister and Raghavender. Ramakrishna also mentioned about the problem with his mother and sister on sharing property to clear his debts of about Rs 30 lakh.

Based on the suicide notes, police had booked the trio for abetting the suicides. Raghavender, who went into hiding, released video messages to the media denying any involvement in the case. The MLA's son said he had only advised Ramakrishna to take care of his mother.

However, the case took a new turn with police recovering the video of Ramakrishna which he had recorded before the suicide. The mobile phone, containing the video, was found in his car parked in front of his mother's house.

In this video, the businessman alleged that Raghavender had asked him to bring his wife to Hyderabad. He said Raghavender tried to use his political and money power to satisfy his carnal desire.

"If I go alone, he will not spare my wife and children. Hence I am taking them with me," the man said in the video.

A police officer said they were continuing the investigation based on the suicide notes, video message and other evidence gathered so far. No arrests have been made so far.

Meanwhile, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy slammed the state government for taking no action against the son of the MLA belonging to ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

Reddy alleged that the government is trying to shield the accused. He wondered what the intelligence department was doing. "Is the intelligence department there only to keep a tab on the democratic struggle of the opposition," he asked.