Telangana police officer had tried to sexually assault beautician

Hyderabad, June 16 (IANS) A Sub-Inspector of Police in Telangana, who committed suicide by shooting himself on June 14, had allegedly tried to sexually assault a beautician, who too ended her life a day earlier, the state police said here.

The Hyderabad police on Friday claimed to have solved the mystery behind the suicides of Vijaya Lakshmi alias Sirisha (28) and Prabhakar Reddy, the Sub-Inspector of Police, who shot himself at Kukunoorpally in Siddipet district.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Mahender Reddy told reporters here that they had arrested V. Rajeev Kumar, owner of RJ photo studio where Sirisha was working as beautician and manager, and his friend B. Sravan for driving her to suicide.

Police investigations revealed that Sirisha, a married woman, had come in contact with Rajeev four years ago, became close friends with him and they were even said to be having physical relationship.

About a year ago Rajeev came in touch with another woman Tejaswi, working as an HR manager in a software company here. They wanted to marry but on learning about the intimacy between Rajeev and Sirisha, Tejaswi picked up a fight with the beautician and insulted her.

On a complaint by Rajeev on May 30, the police called all the three to Banjara Hills Police Station for counselling. They promised to settle the issue amicably.

However, as Tejaswi continued to threaten Sirisha, she sought help of Sravan. He offered to mediate and resolve the issue with the help of to his friend Prabhakar Reddy, the Sub-Inspector at Kuknoorpally police station.

They reached Prabhakar's quarters in Kuknoorpally on the night of June 12 and all of them consumed liquor. The Sub-Inspector allegedly tried to make sexual advances at Sirisha after sending both Rajeev and Sravan out.

On hearing her cries, the two returned to the quarters. As she continued to scream, Rajeev slapped her. Rajeev and Sravan then brought her back to Hyderabad. She tried to jump out of the running car but Rajeev stopped her from doing so and thrashed her again.

They reached photo studio located in Sheikhpet area here in the early hours of June 13. Sirisha went upstairs to the flat while Rajeev was arranging a cab for Sravan.

In the meantime, Sirisha made a video call, but since Rajeev was busy seeing off his friend, he did not attend the phone call. Later, when he called her back, there was no response. He rushed upstairs to find Sirisha hanging from the ceiling fan.

Hailing from West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Sirisha was married to Satish Chandra and the couple had 12-year-old daughter.

It was on a complaint by Satish Chandra, who suspected foul play in his wife's death, that the police took up the investigation.

The Police Commissioner said the autopsy report confirmed that Sirisha died due to hanging. He said they were still awaiting reports of vaginal swabs and viscera sent to the forensic laboratory.

He said the investigations were on in the suicide of Prabhakar Reddy. The Sub-Inspector is believed to have taken the extreme step fearing police investigations and action against him.