The Kadapa police on Friday arrested a couple on charges of murdering an eight-year-old boy.
The victim, Ashrith Kumar Velagacherla was admitted to the Government General Hospital (GGH) here with deep injuries. He was declared dead on September 3. Acting on a complaint by the boy’s grandmother V. Indiramma, the Chinna Chowk police launched an investigation.
According to Additional Superintendent of Police (Kadapa) Tushar Dudi, Machunuru Indraja (25) married M. Anjan Kumar against the wishes of her family and Indraja’s brother V. Sivakumar opposed the marriage, for which she nursed a grudge against her brother.
Indraja reportedly decided to kill son of her brother Sivakumar to teach him a lesson. She allegedly took the boy to her home after convincing her brother that she would take care of the boy’s educational needs.
On September 3, Indraja and her husband allegedly tortured the boy by thrashing and branding him with hot metal objects, leading to his death.
The couple absconded after the boy’s death, but later surrendered before the Deputy tahsildar’s office in Kadapa. The couple were taken into custody by Chinna Chowk police.