The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Prime accused in Ayesha case confesses

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Monday, Aug 18, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Prime accused in Ayesha case confesses

Staff Reporter

Seven more cases registered against him; he confesses to all of them
Says he developed a grudge against women due to his failed marriage

NANDIGAMA (Krishna dist.): Pidatala Satyam Babu, 22, suspected to be the prime accused in the murder of pharmacy student Ayesha Meera on December 27, 2007, was arrested by the Nandigama police on Sunday on the charge of killing B. Varalakshmi, warden of social welfare hostel here, on the following day.

Seven other non-bailable cases, including attempt to trespass into the hostel of Government Polytechnic for Girls, attempt to molest a girl and harassing a few women, were also registered against him.

Seven more cases of the same nature were under investigation. The Nandigama police, who are part of the Krishna district police, did not arrest Mr. Babu on the charge of killing Ms. Ayesha, as the case falls under the Vijayawada police commissionerate’s limits.

Addressing a press conference, Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Eluru Range) Ehsan Reza charged Mr. Babu with trespassing into the social welfare hostel and killing Mrs. Varalakshmi by beating her with an iron rod.

In custody

A class VII student Umamaheswari sustained injuries in the attack. He said the police took him into custody on Saturday night when he was trying to trespass into the girls’ hostel attached to the polytechnic.

“Since we have already received complaints that Mr. Babu has been trying to trespass into the hostel, we have deputed special teams to catch him. One such team caught him last night,” he said. Mr. Reza said Mr. Babu’s involvement in the murder of Ms. Ayesha was also being suspected. The Vijayawada police could take him into custody by moving a prisoner on transit (PT) warrant in the court, he added.

When the police asked Mr. Babu to speak to the media, he confessed to all his offences, including the murder of Ms. Ayesha.

He said his married life was a failure and it made him develop a grudge against all women. He said he saw Ms. Ayesha in the hostel on the night of December 26 last year while returning from a cinema theatre. He trespassed into the hostel and assaulted her, before raping her.

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