Revenge killings: Vizag man gets death penalty for killing six of a family

Visakhapatnam: The IV additional district and sessions court in Visakhapatnam on Friday sentenced 50-year-old Battina Appalaraju to death for killing six members of a family, including two children, in a revenge killing in April 2021. The incident took place at Yathapeta locality in V Juttada village under Pendurthi police station limits in Vizag city. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict.

Six members of the family, including three women and two children, were hacked to death by their neighbour Battina Appalaraju with a hunting scythe over a personal feud in the early hours of April 15, 2021.

Appalaraju and Bamidi Vijay Kiran, neighbours, had a longstanding enmity. Appalaraju decided to eliminate Vijay Kiran and his family.

The victims were Vijay Kiran's father Bamidi Ramana (61), Kiran's wife Bamidi Usha Rani (31), Kiran's son B Uday Nandan (3), Kiran's daughter B Lishitha (six months), Allu Ramadevi (47), mother of Usha Rani, and Nakettlu Aruna (46), a relative of Usha Rani. Vijay Kiran and his elder son escaped as they were not present at the location during the murders.

Appalaraju's daughter Parvathi had a close relationship with Vijay Kiran, which Appalaraju perceived as an insult. He lodged a case against Vijay Kiran at Pendurthi police station in 2018. Since then, Appalaraju and his brother developed a grudge against Vijay Kiran's family.

Later, Vijay Kiran and his family moved to Vijayawada in search of livelihood. In April 2021, they returned to V Juttada as Vijay Kiran's uncle's son Sai's marriage was fixed for May 13, 2021.

Knowing that Vijay Kiran's family had returned, Appalaraju, who had been waiting to take revenge, hacked six family members to death in the early hours on April 15 while they were asleep.

Additional public prosecutor grade-I, Metta Khajana Rao said that judge M Nageswara Rao of the IV additional district and sessions court awarded capital punishment to Appalaraju after convicting him under IPC Section 302 for murder and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000.