The body of Pallakonda Raju, who was accused of the rape and murder of the 6-year-old child in Hyderabad, was cremated in Warangal on Thursday, September 16 night. The family cremated the body at Pothanagar crematoruim in Warangal city amid tight police security. A postmortem was conducted at Warangal's Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) hospital before the body was handed over to Raju’s family.
However, the hasty cremation of the body took place even as a group of activists had approached the acting Chief Justice of Telangana High Court seeking that it be stopped. Activists from the Women and Transgender Organisations Joint Action Committee (WT-JAC), an umbrella organisation of various human rights organisations met MS Ramachandra Rao, the acting CJ of the High Court, raising suspicions over the circumstances that led to the death of the accused. They had also sought an independent post-mortem monitored by the High Court.
The prime suspect in child rape and murder, 30-year-old Pallakonda Raju, was found dead on the railway tracks at Station Ghanapur in Telangana on Thursday morning. Warangal Police Commissioner Dr Tarun Joshi said that it was a "clear case of death by suicide". Citing an eyewitness, the police said Raju was hit while running towards an approaching train. He died on the spot.
Raju had absconded soon after the crime came to light on September 9. With the rape and murder of the 6-year-old drawing huge outrage, several special teams were set up to nab the accused, the police also announced Rs 10 lakh reward for any leads on Raju’s whereabouts. The crime sparked protests, with several politicians seeking an encounter of the accused.
Several politicians, activists and celebrities had visited the family to express their condolences. TPCC Chief Revanth Reddy, RS Praveen Kumar from the BSP and YSR Telangana party Chief YS Sharmila, YS Vijayamma, Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan and several others have visited the family. On Thursday, hours before the death of the accused was reported, Telangana Home Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali and Tribal Welfare Minister Sathyavatio Rathod visited the family and ensured that the police would nab the accused soon.