Teacher Donnu Kusuma, accused of slapping six-year-old UKG student Tammana Pranay Teja at Little Garden School on Town Kotha Road in Visakhapatnam, was arrested by One Town police on Tuesday and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
Police initially registered a case of suspicious death under Section 194 of the BNSS but changed it on Monday to Section 105 of the BNSS and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Pranay Teja collapsed in the classroom and died on August 20 after the teacher allegedly slapped him for not completing his homework, according to the complaint and subsequent allegations.
Kusuma, 23, is a resident of One Town in Visakhapatnam. Her husband works as a daily-wage painter and the couple has a two-year-old daughter.
Pranay Teja’s parents, Krishna Prasad, a cook, and Sai Lakshmi, a homemaker, stated in their complaint that their son collapsed after the teacher admonished him for not completing his homework. The FIR, however, did not mention the alleged slap. The parents and their relatives staged a protest on August 20 demanding stringent action against those responsible for the child’s death.
The school education department has constituted a three-member committee comprising the regional joint director, district educational officer and revenue divisional officer to conduct a comprehensive probe. The committee will visit the school and interact with students and teachers before submitting its report.
Man dies after attack by wife, daughter
A man died while undergoing treatment after allegedly being attacked by his wife and daughter following a family dispute in Porumamilla mandal of Kadapa district.
The deceased, Balayya of Boppapuram village, was allegedly attacked by his wife Lakshmidevi and daughter Krishnakumari, police said. He suffered serious injuries and fell unconscious following the assault.
Family members and locals initially shifted him to the Porumamilla government hospital. As his condition deteriorated, he was referred to RIMS, Kadapa. Later, on doctors’ advice, he was shifted to a private hospital in Hyderabad, where he underwent treatment but succumbed to his injuries.
His body was sent to the Porumamilla government hospital for postmortem. Police registered a case and launched an investigation.
Man gets 3-year jail for dowry harassment
A court in Chittoor sentenced a man to three years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a dowry harassment case registered by Gajulamanyam police in Tirupati district.
VI Additional District Judge T. Haritha on Monday convicted B. Umapathi (A1) under Section 498-A of the IPC and imposed a fine of ₹5,000. In case of default, he will undergo an additional two months of simple imprisonment.
The case was registered after B. Gunavathi alias Komathi, 21, of Allikesam village, died on April 18, 2017, after llegedly facing dowry harassment.
Then Renigunta DSP K.S. Nanjundappa examined witnesses and collected evidence. The investigation was later completed by then Women Police Station DSP B. Katamaraju, who arrested the accused and filed the chargesheet.
The court, however, found that charges under Section 304-B IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act were not proved and acquitted Umapathi of those charges. Proceedings against the second accused, Munemma, were abated following her death.
Tirupati district SP L. Subba Rayudu said police would continue to prioritise crimes against women and dowry harassment cases.
Three brothers held in railway theft cases
Three members of the same family were arrested in connection with a series of theft and snatching cases in Nellore on Tuesday. The Railway police also recovered 104.248 grams of gold and 180 grams of silver ornaments worth ₹13.65 lakh from them.
According to the police, a special team was formed to track down suspects involved in thefts targeting railway passengers. The accused were identified as Thalluri Anil Kumar, 24, and Thalluri Sunil Kumar, 25, both residents of Boggula Dibba in Gudur, along with their 15-year-old younger brother, who is a juvenile.
They were allegedly involved in three bag-lifting and five snatching cases. During the investigation, the police traced the suspects and recovered the stolen gold and silver ornaments linked to the eight cases.
The special team reportedly worked on the basis of intelligence inputs and technical evidence to identify the suspects. Police said the arrests would help prevent further thefts targeting passengers and strengthen security at railway stations and on trains. Officers also directed police teams to step up surveillance and take measures to prevent thefts and other offences against railway passengers.
Man gets 20 years for sexually assaulting minor
The Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Court on Tuesday sentenced a man to 20 years’ imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in Kakinada. The court also imposed a fine of ₹5,000 on the convict.
According to police, the convict, Chirra Anand Kumar, befriended the 16-year-old girl. On the pretext of marrying her, Anand Kumar allegedly raped her several times and later deceived her.
Rajanagaram Police Station Sub-Inspector U.V.S. Nagababu registered a case against Anand Kumar, a resident of Kolamuru village in Rajamahendravaram Rural mandal of East Godavari district, in December 2020 under relevant provisions of the Pocso Act. After hearing the arguments, the Pocso Court sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of `5,000.
₹2 crore worth hash oil seized
Anakapalle district rural police arrested five persons near Golugonda under Narsipatnam Rural police station limits and seized around 15 litres of hash oil worth about `2 crore in an anti-drug operation.
The arrested persons were identified as R. Narasimha Murthy, A. Nanaji, 37, Korra Venkata Rao, 38, B. Lova Laxmi and Korra Sai, 22.
Police said Narasimha Murthy, a native of Butchampeta in Rolugunta mandal, was involved in seven cases under the NDPS Act and three property offences, while Nanaji, a native of Aganampudi in Visakhapatnam district, was involved in eight NDPS cases.
According to police, Narasimha Murthy and Nanaji, with the support of others, procured hash oil from Malkangiri district in neighbouring Odisha and transported it to Tamil Nadu for sale at higher prices.
Youngster held for cheating
Visakhapatnam city police arrested a youngster who allegedly cheated people by swapping their debit cards and withdrawing money from their accounts on the pretext of helping them.
The accused was identified as A. Purnachandra Rao, a native of Krishna district. MVP police said he was allegedly involved in similar crimes in parts of Hyderabad and Bengaluru and had cheated people of more than ₹2.75 lakh.
One dies of snakebite
A youngster died after being bitten by a snake while working in a farm field at Chinaappanapalem in Butchayyapeta mandal of Anakapalle district.
The deceased was identified as Prasad. He was initially treated with herbs by a local person, following which his condition deteriorated and he lost consciousness. He was later shifted to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.