Guntur: Ramya murder premeditated

Guntur: The murder of N Ramya, a B Tech third year student in broad daylight on the 75th Independence Day celebrations has come as a shocker to all in the state.

However, police interrogation of the accused, Kunchala Sasikrishna, who was taken into custody while attempting to flee his arrest on the same day, is leading to the suspicion that the murder was a premeditated one.

Police sources say Sasikrishna was determined to teach the girl a 'befitting lesson' for rejecting his overtures to her. He perhaps could have planned to eliminate her since the day Ramya began maintaining a distance from him having stopped responding to his social media messages and calls.

It is learnt that both the perpetrator of the crime and the victim got introduced to each other on Instagram in January this year. An unsuspecting Ramya befriended him and it was all a normal interaction and talk initially. But after a few days when Ramya came in contact with Sasikrishna in person she felt unease over their equation as the latter popped the 'love proposal'.

Taken aback by the development, Ramya is said to have kept away from Sasikrishna and even blocked his number.

Sasikrishna then landed in Chilumuru, Ramya's hometown, and accosted her to pester her for a green signal to his proposal. That was in April.

He picked up an argument with her over the issue and is said to have warned her.

On Saturday last (August 14), Sasikrishna visited St.Mary's College in Budampadu to verify in person whether Ramya was going to the college as he did not have access to her whereabouts and moments.

Ramya used to commute to the college by bus. When she noticed Sasikrishna and his friend on a bike waiting near her college, a panicked Ramya darted into the college with her friend to avoid any confrontation with him or even be noticed.

But a possessed Sasikrishna again waited for her on Saturday evening near her college hoping to catch her exiting from her classroom.

However, Ramya had left early by afternoon itself on the day and thus escaped his wrath.

This enraged Sasikrishna is said to have borrowed a knife from his friend the next morning and tried to call her again. Having noticed that his number was not being responded to, Sasikrishna desperately began looking for her near residence.

When he saw her coming on to the Kakani Road to fetch breakfast, he confronted her angrily for being dismissed. An argument broke out between the two and he snatched her mobile even as she was moving towards her residence, it is said.

An unsuspecting Ramya handed over the breakfast at home to her family members and came back to collect her mobile from him. But, Sasikrishna insisted on her accompanying him on the bike to an unknown destination to sort out the "matter".

When Ramya refused and took courage and pushed him aside by breaking her hand free from his grip even as she snatched back her mobile, Sasikrishna grabbed her hand, took out the knife and stabbed her multiple times.

It was all over for her even before the shocked onlookers could rush to save her and Sasikrishna fled the spot.

It is not known whether Ramya could have been saved if she were to approach the police the day he began pestering her. Perhaps, that could have staved off the brutal knife attack on her.

The daylight murder shocked the entire state as it is not long ago that the state government had launched even 'Disha app' to come to the rescue of women in distress and save them. The state government has repeatedly declared its intent to protect women and girls from the brutalities.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW), after taking cognisance of the incident, directed the AP DGP to conduct an impartial inquiry into the murder case. The NCW chairperson, Rekha Sharma, wrote a letter to the DGP on Tuesday to this effect.