Hyderabad: In one of the biggest manhunts in recent times, multiple police teams have fanned across Telangana and beyond its boundaries while ‘WANTED’ posters are being pasted on buses, in toddy compounds and on auto-rickshaws, as the Telangana Police pulls out all stops to nab Pallakonda Raju, the prime suspect in the rape-murder of a six-year-old girl at Saidabad.
The police, which had on Tuesday announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information or clues on Raju’s whereabouts, on Wednesday released more pictures of the wanted man, in different poses and looks. Raju allegedly kidnapped the child on Thursday when she came out of her house. He took her to his room and killed her after sexually assaulting her. The body was found later in the night in the locked house, with no trace of Raju. The Hyderabad City Police are now entirely dependent on CCTV footage and good old human intelligence and manual tracking, with Raju, said to have stopped using his mobile phone.
Additional Director General of Police Jitendar said police teams were tracking Raju’s movements based on information coming in from various sources. “I can’t say the exact number of teams on the ground or giving technical assistance. But a lot of ground and technical work is being done to track him down,” he said. Across the State, special teams were checking liquor shops, toddy compounds, bus stands and other possible places. Police forces in the neighbouring States too have been alerted, with the police pooling in all possible resources, ranging from local barbers, tea stall vendors, bus operators and others, circulating pictures of Raju and trying to track his trail.
Other departments too are chipping in, with the TSRTC pasting ‘WANTED’ posters on its buses while the Excise wing is going around alerting and putting up posters in toddy compounds, outside wine shops and in bars while police personnel are also using auto-rickshaws for the posters in the hope that somewhere, someone could spot and recognise Raju while he is on the run from the law.
Karimnagar Police Commissioner V Satyanarayana said the police in the district had sought help from self-help groups, auto unions and private bus unions apart from keeping in touch with local community leaders. Special teams from the Cyberabad and Rachakonda Police too have fanned out across their limits in search of the elusive Raju. The City Police meanwhile, have asked people not to disclose the identity of the victim anywhere, including on social media, pointing out that it was an offence with Supreme Court orders restricting the same.
Also read:
Saidabad rape: Hyderabad cops release more photos, clues of accused
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