Godavari family deaths: Rifle shooting coach arrested after five-state police chase
PTC Web Desk: A rifle shooting coach has been arrested in connection with the deaths of a Panchayat Raj engineer and two members of his family, who allegedly jumped into Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh earlier this month.
The incident took place during the night of August 16-17 at Rajamahendravaram. Panchayat Raj assistant engineer Thillapudi Nookaraju, his wife Meena, daughter Sowjanya and 10-year-old grandson reportedly jumped into the river from the road-cum-rail bridge.
Fishermen rescued the boy, but Nookaraju, Meena and Sowjanya died.
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The police said they recovered a note allegedly written by Nookaraju during the investigation. The note reportedly mentioned rifle shooting coach Sheikh Sadhik Khan and raised questions about events that happened before the family entered the river.
A case was registered against Khan. The charges include alleged coercion to convert Nookaraju to another religion, murder and extortion.
Khan was later arrested in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, following a search that involved several states.
Kakinada District SP Bindu Madhav said the police carried out a difficult chase across five states. More than 10 teams were reportedly involved in tracking the accused.
Investigators also managed to trace Khan's movements despite his alleged efforts to avoid using phones and digital payment services.
Khan was brought back to Andhra Pradesh on a transit warrant, officials said.
According to the police, Khan had known Nookaraju and his family for around two years. He had also worked as a rifle shooting coach at the school attended by Nookaraju's grandson.
The police are now looking into Khan's alleged dealings with the family, his movements following the incident and the allegations mentioned in the recovered notes.
The case has also led to calls for a wider investigation. Former MP Vijayasai Reddy has demanded a probe by either the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Reddy has alleged that Khan was associated with a 10-member group allegedly involved in religious conversions, extortion, illegal gun supply and anti-national activities. He also claimed that the group had approached or targeted around 15 other families in the Kakinada and Rajamahendravaram areas.
Reddy said the alleged activities were not limited to one state and claimed that they could have links outside India, making the case suitable for a central agency investigation.
Khan is currently in police custody and is being questioned about his alleged role in the case. Investigators are working to establish the sequence of events before the deaths and determine whether anyone else was involved.
Police officials have so far said the investigation has not established any connection with the alleged 'love jihad' angle.
- With inputs from agencies
