Telangana student forced to drink pesticide by lecturer, death staged as suicide

A young woman's death in Telangana's Peddapalli district, initially believed to be a suicide, has turned into a murder case following new revelations by police. Investigators have named a contract lecturer at Singareni Collieries Polytechnic College as the prime accused and said that he forced the woman to consume pesticide before attempting to make her death appear as suicide.

Police identified the accused as Jetty Naveen Kumar, a contract lecturer at the college, and also detained Bommakanthi Ravikumar, an overman with Singareni Collieries, for questioning in connection to the case.

The woman, Thandra Akshitharani, was admitted to a government hospital in a critical condition on September 12 and died while undergoing treatment the following day.

Following the incident, police registered a case and launched a scientific investigation on the directions of the Ramagundam Police Commissioner. Investigators examined CCTV footage, call data, call recordings and other technical evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events.

According to police, Jetty Naveen Kumar was married and had two children. He allegedly became acquainted with the woman in 2022, when she was studying at Singareni Collieries Polytechnic College and the acquaintance later developed into a relationship.

Police said Naveen had been living separately from his family due to differences and wanted to marry the woman.

After completing her diploma, the woman moved to Hyderabad to pursue a B.Tech at Osmania University. She later returned to Godavarikhani for training, during which she became acquainted with Ravikumar, an overman at Singareni.

Police allege that Naveen became angry after learning about the woman's closeness with Ravikumar.PLOT TO STAGE THE MURDER AS SUICIDE

According to police, Naveen got the pesticide from a friend's house, transferring it into a water bottle and keeping it in his car before meeting the woman.

After finishing her work, the woman was travelling in an auto when Naveen picked her up near FCI Crossroads. Police said he drove her through areas including NTPC, FCL and IOC while arguing with her.

During the journey, police said that Naveen forced her to write a suicide note claiming that she was taking the extreme step because of Ravikumar. The police also said that he photographed the note using her mobile phone.

According to the police, Naveen then forced the woman to consume the pesticide he had brought with him. She reportedly lost consciousness inside the car.

Police said Naveen intended to make the incident appear as a suicide. To support the plan, he did not immediately take the woman to hospital despite her deteriorating condition and continued driving after she lost consciousness, fearing that rushing her to hospital could expose his involvement.

Investigators also said that he used the woman's mobile phone to call her father and attempted to make the incident appear to be a suicide.

At around 7.30 pm, police said, Naveen took the woman home and later accompanied her parents to the government hospital. He left after admitting her. The woman died the following day while undergoing treatment.ACCUSED ATTEMPTED TO DESTROY EVIDENCE

Investigators said Naveen also tried to destroy evidence after realising that the circumstances surrounding the woman's death could expose his involvement.

Police said that he washed the car and attempted to dispose of the suicide note, pesticide bottle and SIM cards from the mobile phones, and then, fled to Hyderabad.CCTV, TECHNICAL EVIDENCE LEAD POLICE TO ACCUSED

Police analysed CCTV footage, call data, call recordings and other technical evidence to trace Naveen's movements and reconstruct the events preceding the woman's death.

Based on the evidence collected during the investigation, police traced and detained Naveen, the Peddapalli DCP said.

Additionally, police are also investigating the role of Bommakanthi Ravikumar, who was detained near the OCP-5 mine.

According to police, the woman became acquainted with Ravikumar after returning to Godavarikhani for training, and investigators are probing allegations that he had sexual relations with her against her wishes.

Police are also examining a complaint she had reportedly submitted to Singareni officials, the action taken on it and whether there was any lapse in handling her grievance.- EndsPublished By: Shipra ParasharPublished On: Sep 23, 2026 19:47 IST