NRI family found burned to death in Vizag; Cops suspect elder son

Visakhapatnam: The charred bodies of four members of an NRI family were discovered at Madhurawada here in the early hours of Thursday. Prima facie evidence indicated the role of the eldest son who also died in the incident.

After inspecting the crime scene, the city commissioner of police, Manish Kumar Sinha, told reporters that they were investigating whether the deaths were accidents, suicides, or homicide. He said they were also looking into the murder angle as injuries were found on the bodies of three of the deceased. He said a team of forensic experts is collecting evidence. "We will get a clear picture after the forensic evidence is examined," he added.

Bangaru Naidu (50), the head of the family, had returned to Visakhapatnam from Bahrain a few years ago. His wife was a homeopathic doctor. The couple had two sons. Naidu had participated in the "Mee Lo Evaru Koteeswaradu" reality program earlier. The family had moved into the apartment eight months ago.

According to the police, the neighbours noticed smoke billowing out of the flat in the early hours of Thursday and alerted the fire brigade and the police. The fire and the police teams reached the flat, broke open the main door, and found the charred bodies.

Quoting neighbours, the commissioner of police said Naidu's family was engaged in a verbal spat last night. Mr. Sinha pointed a finger of suspicion at the elder son and said all was not well in the family. "Except on the elder son's body, there were injuries on the other three," he said.

The police suspect that Deepak, the eldest son, was behind the killings and that he might have set himself on fire after killing his mother, father, and younger brother. Deepak might have argued with his family members due to mental stress, they said.

Deepak completed engineering from NIT and had enrolled at a coaching centre in Delhi while preparing for the civil services exams. It is alleged that Deepak was mentally unstable and might have killed his family members and committed suicide.