Hyderabad/New Delhi: When the Nalgonda police began its probe into the murder of school principal Kallu Rupa Reddy, they ran into a deadlock. The CCTV footage showed a suspect wearing a red hoodie and face concealed with a mask. That was it.
Rupa, 48, was found murdered on the evening of 11 August at her residence at Kondamallepally mandal in Devarakonda. The body bore 27 stab wounds, while Rs 2.5 lakh cash and her iPhone were missing.
Two clues proved crucial in the breakthrough: Rupa’s last word ‘Babu’ and three blood-stained Rs 500 currency notes seized from two juveniles, who turned out to be students of Nagarjuna Grammar Concept School where she was the principal-cum-director.
As they probed deep, the police found that last month, Rupa had reprimanded the juveniles, both 16 years old, after they were found with unaccounted money in the school hostel, an episode that turned out to be a turning point for her.
“Although the frenzied assault took place on 11 August, a complaint was filed the 12th morning by her son and husband who were unable to reach her over the phone,” sub inspector Ramesh Kumar, the investigation officer (IO), told ThePrint.
Rupa’s businessman husband Rajendar Reddy and her 20-year-old son live in Hyderabad. She ran the school from Nalgonda, visiting Hyderabad during the term holidays.
“When her family sought the tenants help, they entered through the kitchen door after no one answered the main door. The tenants found Rupa lying in a pool of blood, and we were notified immediately,” Kumar said. “In 13 years of career, this case has been the toughest and goriest of all.”
The police initiated a massive mobilisation under Superintendent of Police, Nalgonda, Sharath Chandra Pawar. Five special teams were deployed to process forensic evidence and comb the neighborhood.
After the arrest of the two juveniles, the police sent them to an observation home as per the protocol. The Nalgonda juveniles, hailing from lower middle class families, are charged under Sections 103 (murder), 310 (robbery and dacoity), and 331 (house trespass to commit and offence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“The murder of the principal was driven by revenge, social media fame, and the need for quick cash,” SP Pawar told ThePrint.
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Modus operandi
The two accused, juvenile 1 and 2, scaled the wall and entered Rupa’s house before she returned from school. The reconnaissance was seemingly done a week prior to the crime to make note of her routine.
That done, the duo allegedly searched the internet on “how to commit a murder without getting caught” and even asked Chat GPT on professional ways of killing and making easy money.
On the day of the murder, the juveniles bought surgical gloves, a knife, red hoodies, and money caps, the police said. While one of them stood by a water tank inside the house compound to keep a watch and caution, the other entered the room.
“He hid in the kitchen while she unlocked the door and entered the bedroom after she freshened up. The principal, who was on a call with her aunt, had very little time to react as she saw juvenile 1 dart at her bag. But as the mask dropped, she recognised him and called out to him as ‘Babu’, a term used to address young boys,” the SP said.
That moment proved to be catastrophic. The alarmed perpetrator stabbed Rupa recklessly on her shoulders, hands, legs, chest, and stomach. The juvenile grabbed the cash, snatched the iPhone, and jumped over the rear wall.
On the way, they dumped their hoodies, gloves, and the blood-stained knife behind a bush, and stuffed the cash in their underwear and pants as they sped on their bike, the police recounted.
Rupa, according to the police, had caught the two juveniles with mobile phones and an unaccounted sum of cash. The boys, who could not explain how they got the money and bought a phone, were severely reprimanded after the phone contained inappropriate videos of girl students, the police said.
Rupa had summoned their parents following which the duo was dismissed from hostel and were ordered to attend school as day scholars.
“The juveniles said they felt humiliated for being scolded and being stripped of their prized possessions. They decided to hatch a vindictive plot and channeled their anger to take revenge,” a source in the police explained.
The two had taken a week off before committing the crime to conduct the recce and purchase the items required, the police said.
The one-word clue
The murder came to light when Rajendar and his son were unable to reach Rupa. Her family members panicked when they, too, failed to make contact. ThePrint attempted to reach out to Rupa’s family, but they declined to speak.
In the course of investigation, the police retrieved footage from a CCTV camera installed barely 100 metres from the principal’s residence. “The video showed a young boy walking around the neighbourhood, wearing a red hoodie, a mask on his face, and gloves on his hands. Further CCTV analysis revealed he went to a secluded spot in the district and changed into a white shirt, discarding the gloves,” said a police officer.
The special teams examined forensic evidence, fingerprints, dog squad findings, CCTV footage, technical evidence, details of previous offenders, movements of suspects, and verification of rowdy-sheeters.
“The teams examined the area within a radius of approximately 30 km around the crime scene from all possible angles and analysed footage from around 70 CCTV cameras. About 40 police officers and personnel from five special teams worked continuously and questioned more than 80 suspects,” the SP told ThePrint.
The police were initially faced with a severe lack of physical clues. “We interrogated more than 80 people and even suspected the husband and the school staff to check if there was any marital discord, or if the principal had an argument with any school staff,” the IO told ThePrint.
Just when the clues seemed hard to come, Rupa’s aunt recounted that her niece’s final word before the connection went dead was ‘Babu’. “Our interrogations and crime solving method pivoted around the school then. We stopped interrogating the locals and instead turned our attention towards the school,” Kumar said.
The police then checked the school roster to scan if students went on leave in and around the time of murder.
“We had convincing answers from all such students except the two whose parents could not provide convincing replies to how the boys acquired new iPhones. The juveniles threw lavish parties for their friends, serving alcohol and drugs. This led us to suspect them,” one of the investigation officers said.
Finally, on Wednesday morning, eight days after the investigation started, acting on a tip-off, the police intercepted the duo riding a motorcycle on the highway near the Doniyala Crossroad.
A body search revealed Rs 1.54 lakh in cash hidden inside their undergarments. More importantly, the recovered Rs 500 currency notes that smelt of dried human blood. Three of the notes, the SP said, had blood stains. Confronted with the forensic evidence, the two broke down and confessed to the murder.
The teams have since recovered the murder weapon, the discarded red hoodies from a drainage canal, and the stolen phone, successfully presenting both the accused before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
“The JJB will conduct a preliminary assessment to check if the duo should be treated as adults in regular sessions court or handled as juveniles,” SP Pawar said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)