Family Including Infant, Toddler Hacked To Death By Neighbor

Six members of a family including an infant and a toddler were hacked to death by their neighbor in the early hours of Thursday, April 15, in Juttada village in the outskirts of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, India.

The accused, identified as Appalaraju, surrendered himself to the police after the slaying.

The heinous crime is believed to have arisen from an enmity that the suspect had nurtured against the family of the victims since 2018, police said. The suspect and the victims’ family also had an ongoing property dispute which police believe escalated to the murders.

"The accused Appalaraju is a neighbor of the deceased. There was an ongoing dispute between their families. Because of that issue, he killed six members of the family with a sickle," Assistant Commissioner of Police Sripad Rao told local media.

The deceased were identified as, 63-year-old Bommidi Rammana, 57-year-old Nakella Aruna, 53-year-old Allu Ramadevi, 35-year-old Bommidi Usharani, her children 2-year-old Bommidi Uday, and 6-month-old Bommidi Urvisha.

"The victims were lying in a pool of blood and were discovered around 6 am on Thursday. The murder appears to have taken place two hours earlier," the commissioner said.

According to the commissioner, the suspect did not seem to have committed the murders alone, as one man could not have murdered four adults and one child without any struggle or resistance.

The police are investigating to identify whether any other suspects were involved in the crime.

The dispute between the families is believed to have arisen in 2018 following an alleged extramarital relationship between Vijay, the head of the victim’s family, and the daughter of the accused.

"Since the altercation in 2018, the two families have not been on talking terms. The issue further deteriorated and led to this incident," Rao said.

Local residents reported having witnessed an altercation between the two families on the night before the murder.

This is an ongoing investigation and no further details were available at this time.