US-educated Hyderabad man stabs grandfather to death over property dispute, attacks mother
A 29-year-old Hyderabad man was arrested after stabbing his industrialist grandfather VC Janardhana Rao to death over a property dispute
A 29-year-old Hyderabad man was arrested after stabbing his industrialist grandfather to death over a property dispute. US-educated Kilaru Keerthi Teja stabbed his grandfather over 70 times after a heated argument over property distribution on Thursday night.
According to India Today, his grandfather Velamati Chandrasekhara Janardhana Rao, head of Veljan Group, succumbed to his injuries. He was 86.
Keerthi Teja, who had recently returned to India after completing his masters degree in the United States, also stabbed his mother when she tried to intervene. He managed to escape and was tracked down by the police on Saturday.
The cause of the dispute
The Indian Express reported that Keerthi Teja is the son of VC Janardhana Rao’s younger daughter. Rao had recently appointed Srikrishna, the son of his elder daughter, as group director of his business. This led to bad blood between him and Teja, who was given ₹4 crore in company shares.
On Thursday, Teja and his mother visited Rao at his Hyderabad residence. An argument broke out between the two men, which eventually escalated into a physical confrontation where Rao was stabbed 73 times.
Teja, enraged by what he saw as unfair distribution of property, grabbed a kitchen knife and began stabbing his grandfather.
At the time of the assault, Rao’s daughter and Teja’s mother, Sarojini Devi, was some distance away in the kitchen. After hearing the commotion she rushed to the scene and tried to intervene. She also received stab wounds in the process.
Sarojini Devi was stabbed four times and received treatment at a private hospital, reported the Indian Express.
Meanwhile, her son Teja fled the scene of the crime. He was tracked down on Saturday after a police hunt and arrested.
Established in 1965, Veljan Group is a “pioneering fluid power company.” According to its website, it specialises in “manufacturing a wide range of Pneumatic and Hydraulic products, components and systems at its various manufacturing plants located in and near Hyderabad”.
