2 AP Women Die, Foul Play Suspected

Two young women were killed and their male friends injured when a car in which they were travelling rammed into a roadside hotel in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district, but the families of the deceased have alleged that the youth killed them and made it look like an accident.

The incident occurred near Rotarypuram in the Bukkarayasamudram mandal of the district on Tuesday morning.

The deceased were identified as Haritha (20) and Navanitha (20). Harita was a third-year nursing student at a college in Anantapur, while Navanitha was working as a nurse at a private hospital. They were friends for the last two years.

According to police, the young women were friends with Kumar, who was working in the hospital where Navaniha was employed as a nurse, and an insurance company agent, Sridhar Reddy, who was a regular visitor to the hospital.

All four friends left in a car on Monday night. After visiting Korrapadu, SRIT College and other areas, they left for Anantapur around 4 a.m. on Tuesday. Sridhar Reddy, who was driving the car, apparently lost control and rammed the vehicle into a roadside hotel near Rotarypuram, where a bridge was under construction.

According to police, Haritha, who was seated in the rear, died on the spot. Injured Navanitha, Sridhar Reddy and Kumar were shifted to a hospital, where Navanitha succumbed while undergoing treatment.

The families of the deceased women alleged that the youth took them in the car after luring them with sweet talk, murdered them and made it look like an accident. They expressed their suspicions as the youth survived with simple injuries.

Haritha’s mother, Salamma, said she had already warned her to be cautious about the youth and not to trust them. Navanitha’s mother, Vijaya, alleged that the youth had taken her daughter by misleading her and demanded stringent punishment.

Police said they have registered a case on the complaint of the families of the deceased and taken up the investigation. A police officer said they were analysing the CCTV footage.

The post-mortem examination report is likely to be key in ascertaining the cause of the deaths.