Body of Panchayat Raj official's daughter recovered from Godavari river

Metro India News | Rajahmundry

The body of a Panchayat Raj Assistant Engineer's daughter was recovered from Godavari river near Kothapeta, while search operations are underway to trace the official's wife's corpse, in an alleged suicide case, a police official said on Friday. According to East Godavari district South Zone DSP A Shivapriya, the body was found in the middle of the river towards Kommaravaripalli village on Thursday, and was in a partially decomposed condition.

"The body of Sowjanya, daughter of G Nukaraju, a Panchayat Raj Assistant Engineer, was recovered from the Godavari river near Kothapeta, while efforts are continuing to trace Nukaraju's wife, who remains missing," Shivapriya said. According to the police, Nukaraju travelled from Kovvur towards Rajahmundry with his wife, daughter and their Class five grandson, along with a driver on Sunday evening. Later, the family asked the driver to leave and continued their journey with Nukaraju's daughter driving.

At around 11.45 pm, near the Road-cum-Rail Bridge here, Nukaraju's wife allegedly jumped into the Godavari river, followed by Nukaraju, his daughter and grandson. The boy, who is a swimmer and has participated in All-India-level competitions, was later rescued by local fishermen. According to police, the body of Nukaraju was recovered late on Monday. Search operations are continuing to trace Nukaraju's wife, while police were also questioning several people in connection with the case, Shivapriya said.

Police teams have been formed to trace Shaik Sadiq Khan as he was named in the suicide note allegedly written by Nukaraju.

In the note, Nukaraju accused Khan of harassing his family, creating disputes at their house and attempting to gain control of their bank accounts. Shivapriya said another case was recently registered against Khan in Kakinada. The case was based on allegations made by Sowjanya, who had accused Khan of blackmailing her for around two years using private videos and raising other personal issues concerning her.

Sowjanya had also claimed that Khan killed her husband last month, making it appear as if he had died by suicide, the DSP said. The allegations were made in a suicide note allegedly written by Sowjanya. Based on the contents of the note, Kakinada police registered a murder case against Khan, said Shivapriya.

The case was registered under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with punishment for murder. The DSP said the Kakinada case was also under investigation and was being probed separately alongside the present case.