Nalgonda: A single word uttered during a phone conversation shortly before her demise helped investigators crack the murder case of private school principal Kallu Rupa Reddy in Nalgonda district. Reddy, who headed Nagarjuna Grammar Concept School in Kondamallepally, was found dead with 27 stab wounds at her residence in JB Colony on August 11 while her husband was away in Hyderabad for work.
The crucial lead emerged when police learned that Reddy had said the word “Babu” while speaking to her aunt on the phone just before the line went abruptly silent. Because the principal routinely addressed her students by that term, investigators shifted their focus toward school attendees, analyzing behavioral shifts, attendance records, and surveillance footage across a 30-kilometre radius.
Special investigation teams formed by Nalgonda District Superintendent of Police Sharath Chandra Pawar questioned over 80 individuals and monitored several students who displayed sudden changes in routine following the incident. Authorities subsequently intercepted two 16-year-old Class 10 students travelling by motorcycle near Doniyala Crossroad. During the search, officers recovered Rs 1.54 lakh in cash—including bloodstained currency notes—along with the victim’s mobile phone.
According to police officials, the two juveniles held a grudge against Reddy after she caught them with unauthorized mobile phones and cash in their hostel room the previous month and reprimanded them in front of their parents. Believing the principal stored large amounts of cash at her residence, the duo allegedly spent a week tracking her movements, procured weapons, and entered her home via the kitchen on August 11 before committing the robbery and assault.
Investigators have recovered the weapon, protective gear, discarded clothing, and stolen devices as the formal investigation continues.
