Murder accused dragged 100 mts, hacked to death
Videos of murder flood social media platforms
To avenge the murder of his son, the father killed a man accused of the murder that occurred nine months ago. The victim, Jerigalla Ramesh, 24, a resident of Jummerat Bazaar in Dhoolpet was chased for over 100 metres by V. Kishan Goud, 48, and pulled down from a traffic police constable’s bike and hacked to death on the main road at Pillar No 139 of the PVNR Expressway in Rajendranagar on Wednesday.
The murder took place in broad daylight with hundreds of people and at least three policemen, present. The victim was hacked 12 times with an axe, which was also used to threaten the policemen and the public from stopping him.
On December 25, 2017, Ramesh had allegedly killed 24-year-old Vaddegoni Mahesh Goud at Shamshabad due to an old rivalry involving a relationship with a married woman. He was arrested but out on bail and was attending the court in Rajendranagar on Wednesday.
He was returning home in an autorickshaw at around 1.30 pm, when two persons intercepted the vehicle and tried to attack him. Ramesh jumped out of the autorickshaw and ran for his life. He saw traffic police constable Lingamurthy on the main road and told him about the murder attempt.
Narrating the sequence of events Rajendranagar inspector G. Suresh said that the constable started his bike going towards Tolichowki with Ramesh as pillion. After they had travelled about 100 metres, Kishan Goud and his wife’s brother A. Laxman Goud pulled Ramesh down from the bike and Laxman Goud started attacking Ramesh with an axe, while Kishan Goud prevented the crowd from intervening. The inspector said that when Lingamurthy held Kishan, the latter passed the axe to Laxman. Passersby and the constable tried their best to prevent the murder.
Shamshabad DCP N. Prakash Reddy said that “Prima facie the murder looks like an act of revenge. Ramesh was killed by the father of the deceased Mahesh Goud and his maternal uncle Laxman. The two have been arrested and will be produced before a court for judicial remand.”
The police has been criticised for not being able to prevent the murder of Jerigalla Ramesh despite being present on the spot. Members of the public who tried to prevent the murder were threatened with an axe.
Three videos of the incident captured by onlookers have gone viral on social media. At least three policemen — a traffic constable and two constables in civil dress — were seen at the spot failing to prevent the murder.
In the video grabs, traffic constable Lingamurthy of Cyberabad police and some passersby are seen attempting to prevent the murder by getting hold of Kishan Goud and Laxman Goud, but in vain.
Explaining the incident, Mr Lingamurthy said, “I was on patrolling duty, clearing vehicles parked on the road. At around 1.30 pm, Ramesh, who was in an auto, jumped out and screamed for help saying he will be killed. I immediately made him sit on my bike and tried to move ahead, but the accused got hold of my bike and pushed it down. We both fell on the road. Before I could get up, they started attacking Ramesh after chasing him for some distance. They had an axe and a knife. Exchanging the weapons between them, they hacked him to death.”
Mr Lingamurthy said that he and some members of the public “tried our best to save Ramesh’s life. The accused were pushing us away and hacked multiple times. Before another police vehicle reached the spot, Ramesh was dead. One of the passersby picked up a helmet and hit the accused. But, they accused were armed and waved the axe at us threateningly.”
An eye-witness to the murder said, “The public and police both panicked after a brief brawl with the accused, as the latter were armed. Though the policemen stepped out of the vehicle when the victim was being hacked, they did not step forward to save his life.” Hundreds of people gathered at the spot soon after the murder. Many had recorded the murder on their mobile phones.
Denying allegations that the police had failed to prevent the murder Shamshabad DCP N.Prakash Reddy said: “Traffic constable Lingamurthy made all possible efforts to save Ramesh. The onlookers also tried to stop the accused, but the two were drunk and overpowered the public and the policeman and attacked the victim.”
He said the two other policemen who reached the spot after the murder they apprehended the accused. “It was a crime team in civil dress and they caught the accused and handed them over to the police,” the official said.