Debt-ridden father throws kids into canal, surrenders to police

RAJAHMUNDRY: A man who threw his two children into a canal in Konaseema district surrendered before Ramachandra Puram DSP Raghuveer on Wednesday. His daughter drowned, while his son survived. The accused, Pilli Raju, admitted to committing the act due to heavy debts. He also revealed that he had attempted suicide twice—once in Yanam, where the police saved him, and another time by jumping into the Godavari River, where locals intervened.
Raju, a financier from Venturu village in Rayavaram mandal, had two children, Sandeep (10) and Karunya (7), studying in a school in Ramachandra Puram. On March 17, he picked them up from school, bought them chocolates and cakes, and then took them to the Godavari canal locks at Nelaparthi Padu. Stopping his bike, he told his children they were going to commit suicide.
He first threw Sandeep into the canal. Karunya, realizing the danger, tried to escape, but Raju caught her and threw her in as well. Karunya drowned, but Sandeep survived by clinging to an iron rod and later swimming to the shore. He then rushed to the police station and reported the incident.
The police, with the help of locals, recovered Karunya’s body. Raju had been missing since the incident but has now been taken into custody. A case has been registered against him under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC.