2 Minors suspected in Telangana headmistress murder, juvenile board to assess case
Two teenage students have emerged as the prime suspects in the murder of a school headmistress in Kondamandapalli town, Nalgonda district, Telangana, with police probing a possible money motive, more than a week after the case first came to light.
The victim, Kallu Roopa Reddy, around 50, headed Nagarjuna Grammar English Medium School in Kondamallepally mandal. She was found dead at her home on August 12 morning with multiple stab wounds.
Police said Roopa Reddy had returned from a trip to Hyderabad with her husband, Kallu Rajender Reddy, on August 11 and went to school as usual, leaving around 5:30pm after telling colleagues she was expecting visitors.
Unable to get a response, they alerted the police, and the husband contacted Chintapalli sub-inspector Rammurthy, who lived nearby. Rammurthy and neighbors then found her body in a pool of blood inside the house.
An FIR was registered the same day at the local police station and investigators initially examined whether her husband could have been involved, alongside other possible motives.
That line of inquiry has since shifted. Police now suspect two 16-year-old boys from Kondamandapalli were behind the killing, with the possibility that they targeted Roopa Reddy believing she came from a financially well-off background. One of the two accused has been apprehended, while the other remains absconding, the Sub Inspector at Chinthapalli station told The Pioneer.
"Two boys, aged 16, from Kondamandapalli town, Nalgonda district, got addicted to easy money. They realised their head mistress is from a rich background and planned the attack. They had no previous tiff with their head mistress. Their parents are farmers, from poor families,” the S.I. said.
Police said the exact sequence of events, the precise role each boy played, and the final motive behind the murder are still being established.
Child Welfare Committee officer Venkateswarlu told the Pioneer that the age of the accused is expected to be a key factor in how the case moves forward. Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, a child between 16 and 18 accused of a serious offence must first undergo a preliminary assessment by the Juvenile Justice Board, which determines whether the case is handled within the juvenile system or the accused is tried as an adult. If tried as an adult and convicted, the punishment can range from seven years' imprisonment to life imprisonment or, in certain cases, the death penalty.
The investigation is ongoing.
