Madanapalle (Andhra Pradesh), Jan 27 The excessively superstitious couple from Andhra Pradesh, who recently killed their two adult daughters in Madanapalle in Chittoor district, still believes that their daughters will come back to life.
The couple, V. Purushotam Naidu, a lecturer at the government women's degree college, and his wife V. Padmaja, a mathematics teacher, responded to police queries in a relatively sane manner on Wednesday, barring chants about Lord Shiva in between.
"They are chanting about Lord Shiva, saying 'Om Namashivayya'. Not delusional. If the sub-jail authorities feel that they are abnormal, they can send a letter to the magistrate. They can obtain the permission and send them for psychiatric treatment or for medical examination," a police officer told on Wednesday.
However, he said the two were responding properly to the questions, but lacing their answers with Lord Shiva chants. Currently, both of them are lodged in the Madanapalle sub-jail.
Following the sensational double murder, the police are busy probing the case and are gathering information from the neighbours.
"We are examining the neighbours, family friends and relatives. We are also analysing CCTV footages. As per the information we have so far, only four persons were present in the house when the incident took place," the officer said.
However, he dismissed theories of the presence of a fifth person or anybody else such as a tantric, which are being propounded by some local Telugu news channels.
"For their TRP ratings, some channels are are creating a hype. If some tantric did come, let them display his photo. It will give us a clue, which we will examine. It will be more useful for the investigation," he asserted.
Naidu and Padmaja enjoyed a respectable reputation with their neighbours, just like any decent family. However, the police are clueless as to how they transitioned into extreme spirituality.
"This will not be decided in a few days. We have to check if they visited any temple or ashram," said the officer.
The police are examining CCTV footages of the past few days in their quest for clues.
On Tuesday, Padmaja was taken for a coronavirus test, where she was found to be talking about the pandemic and spirituality which others could not understand. She was made to sit on a chair as a healthcare worker tried to take her swab, but she continued to behave strangely with unconnected gestures.
The police have not sealed the house and the couple's relatives are visiting it.
The couple's elder daughter Alekhya (27) had completed a diploma in forest studies from Bhopal, while younger daughter Sai Divya (22) studied BBA. Divya was also a student at the A.R. Rahman Music School in Chennai.
( With inputs from IANS )
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