Parents Allegedly Beat Daughters to Death With Dumbbells in AP

The parents believed that their daughters, both college-goers, could be revived after their deaths.

Believing that they would be able to bring back the dead, a couple allegedly bludgeoned their two daughters to death with dumbbells at their residence in Andhra Pradesh’s Madanapalle in Chitoor district. The horrific incident came to light on Sunday. The couple, identified as V Padmaja and V Purushotham Naidu, believed that they had special powers that would help them revive their dead daughters, police said.

“Give us time till the end of the night, we will bring them back,” the couple told the police who arrived at the house. While Purushotham is an associate professor of Chemistry from Government Degree College in Madanapalle, Padmaja who reportedly is a Gold Medallist in MSc Mathematics, is the correspondent of Masterminds IIT Talent School in Chitoor.

The victims have been identified as Alekya (27) and Sai Divya (22). Alekya was a student of the Indian Institute of Forest Management and Divya was a BBA graduate pursuing a career in music, police said.

Police found several ritual items at the site and the victims were found draped in red sarees. According to local reports, some residents in the colony heard a loud scream from the house following which the police were alerted.

Police, however, could not determine the time of the incident.

“We do not know the full details about why and how the incident happened, but the couple were not acting normally when we reached there. They requested us to give them one day’s time, stating that the dead will wake up. After interacting with them, we got the sense that they seem to be in a delusional state, so it will take time to investigate,” District Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ravi Manohar Chary said.

Police said the couple and their daughters remained isolated at their residence and did not allow maids inside the house following the pandemic. “The maids would just clean the place from outside and leave,” the DSP said.

Though there is speculation that it is a case of human sacrifice, investigating police officers only confirmed that the parents are not acting normal. The couple's version however is not yet known, they are in custody.

(This story was first published on The News Minute and has been republished here with permission.)