Couple found murdered in Ranga Reddy district; Faces smashed & burned to hide identities; Cops suspect rape

The preliminary evidence suggests that the murders took place two days ago and woman may have been raped before being murdered, as her clothes were torn, the police said.

Hyderabad: In a double murder that has sent shock waves across Telangana, two people including a woman were found brutally murdered with knife stabs on their bodies in the bushes in the vicinity of the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple in Puppalaguda of the Ranga Reddy district on Tuesday morning.

According to Narsingi police, the perpetrators burned the victims' faces with petrol and smashed their heads with a boulder to conceal their identities. Locals discovered the bodies and immediately informed the police on Tuesday morning.

Woman may have been raped before being murdered, as her clothes were torn, the police said.

The police have identified the deceased male as Ankit Saket, a 25-year-old originally from Madhya Pradesh. He had been working for a housekeeping company in Nanakramguda for several years. The woman has been identified as Bindu, also 25 years old, who is a resident of LB Nagar and originally from Chhattisgarh.

Ankit and Bindu were known to each other. On January 8, Ankit brought Bindu from LB Nagar to Nanakramguda and temporarily housed her in a friend's room. The murder is believed to have occurred on the night of January 11, police said.

According to police, as it was a Sankranti festival, kids and youth went on top of the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple hillock to fly kites. During the kite-flying, some of the kites broke and fell, prompting the youth to go into nearby bushes and retrieve them. As the kids went into the bushes, they found two dead bodies, leaving them speechless. Later, Both the dog squad and the clues team arrived at the scene to gather information.

Police said heads were smashed with a boulder and then the bodies were set on fire. The police said that both bodies are currently in an unidentifiable state.

The police found a large number of empty liquor bottles at the crime scene. It appears that the perpetrators committed the murders under the influence of alcohol, police said.

After registering a case, the police have launched an investigation.