A couple in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district who believe to have special powers allegedly beat up their two daughters to death with dumbbells at their residence believing that they would be able to bring back the dead.  The parents reportedly asked the police for time and claimed they can bring their daughters back to life.

The incident took place on Sunday and the couple is identified as V Padmaja and V Purushotham Naidu. While Purushotham works as an associate professor of Chemistry in Government Degree College of Madanapalle, Padmaja is reportedly a Gold Medalist in MSc Mathematics and a correspondent of Masterminds IIT Talent School in Chittoor.  

District Superintendent of Police Ravi Mahohar Chary told TNM, “We do not know the full details about why and how the incident happened, but the couple were not acting normally when we reached there. They requested us to give them one day’s time, stating that the dead will wake up.”

“After interacting with them, we got the sense that they seem to be in a delusional state, so it will take time to investigate,” the DSP added. 

The deceased women have been identified as Alekya, a 27-year-old student of Indian Institute of Forest Management and 22-year-old Sai Divya, a BBA graduate who was pursuing a career in music, said the police. 

Several ritual items were found at the crime site by the police and the deceased persons were draped in a red saree. The neighbours reportedly heard loud screams coming from the house after which the police reached the site. The police also said that the family of four was living in isolation during the pandemic and even the maid of the house was not allowed to enter. 

The police are yet to determine the exact time when the incident took place. While there are speculations of this being a case of human sacrifice, further investigation by the police will follow. 

Both the parents have been arrested  by the Chittoor police. The police are tracking CCTV footages from near the place to track the movement of people in and out of the house.

Further, Chittoor police chief Senthil Kumar said that the parents were also planning suicide. But they were interrupted by the arrival of police. The parents believed that they would all be resurrected and would have a better life.