Three persons, including a girl, sleeping outside their tenement were set alight by a relative at Chukkaluru village near Tadipatri in Anantapur district in the early hours of Sunday. While the girl, Poojitha, escaped with minor burns, the other two, Nallappa Reddy and his wife Krishnaveni, were admitted to a hospital with major burns.
Anantapur Superintendent of Police K. Srinivasa Rao said that the accused, identified as Ramesh Reddy, bore a grudge against his elder brother Nallappa, 42, for siding with his estranged wife in a domestic dispute. When Nallappa was sleeping outside his house with his wife Krishnaveni, 37, Ramesh doused petrol on them and set them alight. A neighbour’s daughter, Poojitha, 13, who was sleeping near Krishnaveni, also sustained burns in the incident.
While Nallappa suffered 65% burns, Krishnaveni sustained 45% burns. The trio was sent to the Tadipatri hospital at 2.15 a.m. from where they were sent to the Anantapur GGH early in the morning. While Poojitha was discharged after basic treatment, Nallappa and Krishnaveni were sent to a private hospital in Kurnool for further treatment and their condition is said to be stable.
Police said they have launched a manhunt to nab Ramesh Reddy.
