Madanapalle (Andhra Pradesh), (Samajweekly) The superstitious mother of two girls, whom she and her husband had murdered as part of eccentric rituals with a hope to resurrect them later, continued to be in an unstable condition on Tuesday.
After being produced at a court here, V. Purushotam Naidu, a lecturer at a government women’s college, and his wife V. Padmaja, a mathematics teacher in Masterminds IIT Talent School, were sent to the Madanapalle jail on a 14-day remand.
“They are highly educated people, but they continue to be excessively religious,” said a police officer probing the case.
On Tuesday, Padmaja was taken for a coronavirus test, where she was found to be talking about the pandemic and spirituality which others could not understand. She was made to sit on a chair as a healthcare worker tried to take her swab, but she continued to behave strangely with unconnected gestures.
Earlier, Naidu lit the pyre of his daughters while sobbing inconsolably.
The couple’s elder daughter Alekhya (27) had completed a diploma in forest studies from Bhopal, while younger daughter Sai Divya (22) studied BBA. Divya was also a student at the A.R. Rahman Music School in Chennai.
According to the police, the parents as well as the daughters were devotional to the extent that they thought God will save them come what may.
Most of the neighbours are still in disbelief and reminisced how exemplary the family was in happier times.
