A 35-year-old man, P. Rajkumar, who was accused in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case, allegedly killed six people, including his two children and three members of the family that had filed a complaint against him, in Rangareddy district, Telangana, police said on Saturday, July 11, 2026.
Sequence of Attacks
The accused, a farmer from Shabad mandal, carried out the murders at multiple locations late on Friday night. Future City Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi told reporters that Rajkumar first went to the house of the minor girl in Shabad town and killed her mother and maternal grandmother while they were asleep. He then took the minor girl in a car to his native village of Dhaivalguda and stabbed her to death near a lake. Notably, he did not harm the minor girl's elder sister, who has physical and intellectual disabilities, when he targeted the other family members.
Rajkumar subsequently went to his own house, about 250 metres from the lake, and killed his wife (in her 30s) and his two sons, aged four and one-and-a-half years, who were all asleep, the commissioner said.
Background of the POCSO Case
Rajkumar was booked under the POCSO Act in May 2026 for stalking and harassing the minor girl, based on a complaint filed by her family. The minor girl's mother had alleged that Rajkumar had been harassing her daughter for the past year and had threatened to kill her if she refused to speak with him. He had recently secured anticipatory bail in the case, police said.
According to police, the accused had stalked the minor girl while she was returning home from college and had been harassing her to accept his proposal. He was booked under sections 11 and 12 of the POCSO Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). After the case was registered, Rajkumar absconded from his village for two weeks and later filed for anticipatory bail. As the offence carries a punishment of less than seven years, he was released on a personal bond, the commissioner said. He had then appeared before the police for counselling.
Aftermath and Investigation
Immediately after the murders, Rajkumar called his father and confessed to the crimes, telling him that he was going to take his own life, police said, adding that he then switched off his phone. The accused's parents then reported the matter to the police. Rajkumar fled the scene and remains absconding. Police on Saturday announced a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh for anyone providing credible information leading to his apprehension. The six bodies were sent to a hospital for post-mortem.
Seven teams were formed to nab the accused and are searching for him, the commissioner said, adding, "We will get (nab) him soon." According to available information, the accused was alone while carrying out the killings, he said. The exact motive for the killings is under investigation, and the full picture would be known once he is apprehended and interrogated. Investigators suspect a deep-seated grudge against the minor girl, but the motive behind killing his wife and two children is yet to be ascertained. "As of now, we don't know why he killed his own wife and children," Joshi said.
The senior police official said the accused's family told police that he was addicted to gambling and had taken loans, which they believed had left him under severe stress.
Political Reactions and Protests
Telangana Minister for Panchayat Raj and Women and Child Welfare D. Anasuya Seethakka directed officials to take stringent action against the accused, expedite the investigation, and ensure justice for the victims' families. BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao alleged that the Shabad incident is a clear testament to the state government's "failure." He said, "An accused in a POCSO case was granted bail even after the victim's family had repeatedly been telling that there is a threat to them from the accused. Now the accused has killed six people. The state government, which is supposed to protect such victims, is not doing. It is a failure of the Home Minister and the state government."
Family members and relatives of the minor girl, along with several locals, held a protest on Saturday, squatting on the road in Shabad, demanding that the accused be killed in an encounter. They alleged negligence on the part of the police in handling the POCSO case. District authorities announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased minor girl and her mother and grandmother. A sub-inspector of police was placed under suspension over alleged negligence in handling the POCSO case. The protesters subsequently withdrew their roadblock protest. Two cases were registered in connection with the murders.
