Warangal: A nine-month-old infant was raped and killed by a man in Tailor Street in Hanamkonda, Warangal Urban district, during the early hours of Wednesday. The man was identified as Kolipaka Praveen, 28, who is currently in police custody.
According to Warangal Commissioner of Police Dr V. Ravinder, the child Srihitha was sleeping with her parents and grandparents on the terrace of their house. The assailant climbed up the stairs and abducted the baby. He took her to a secluded location two streets away and sexually assaulted her. When she cried in pain, he gagged her.
Kolipaka Praveen, who raped and murdered a nine-month-old girl at Hanamkonda, must be given capital punishment demanded the family members of Srihitha, the child rights commission and local people living in the locality.
A huge protest demonstration was held outside the Hanamkonda police station on Wednesday. People from various organisations and different walks of life came in support of Srihitha’s family and demanded the assailant Praveen be encountered in public.
The family members first refused to take the baby from the MGM hospital mortuary saying they will conduct the final rites of their daughter only after Praveen is dead.
A tense situation prevailed as protestors blocked traffic at the Hanamkonda bus station junction. Police arrested the protestors.
Padma, a neighbour of the stricken family, said Praveen, who works as a cleaner in a nearby hotel, has a record of misbehaviour with local women. He was also booked for thieving several times.
“He would sometimes sleep on anybody’s terrace. When we questioned him, he used to be rude with us. Even after we complained regarding him the police did not take any action. The child would have been alive today had the police taken action against him before.”
