Baby Saanvi killed in US; family refutes affair rumour

Hyderabad, Oct 29: The Vennas have been going through a rough phase in their lives when two deaths shattered their family. Sixty-one-year-old Satyavathi was killed while her 10-month-old grand daughter Saanvi was

and later found dead. Rubbing salt on their wounds, rumour over alleged illicit relationship between Saanvi's mother Latha and the kidnapper has surfaced.

The Vennas, who cremated Satyavathi at Guntur in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, Oct 28, overruled all reports on the illicit relationship saying, "It is a case of greed. Our little girl was abducted for ransom."

The family members also claimed that the kidnapper, who has been identified as Raghunanean Yaneadamuri, was not their relative. According to the family members, Raghunanean and Saanvi's parents were neighbours in US.

"It is not true. He was invited to lunch once when Saanvi's granny went to US, as he is a Telugu man," said Latha's younger brother Pratap Reddy in Guntur.

Meanwhile, Latha's mother informed that 35-year-old Latha and her husband had faced difficulties as they did not have any child even after ten years of their marriage. Latha's mother said, "My daughter Chenchu Latha had Saanvi after 10 years of marriage. There is no temple and pilgrimage she had not visited along with her husband Siva Prasad praying to be blessed with a child. A year ago, she gave birth to little Saanvi. Now the little one has been killed mercilessly."

US police arrested the accused who reportedly has confessed his crime saying that he killed Saanvi and her grandmother who was babysitting her at their apartment.

According to police, Raghunanean alias Raghu had a master plan before commencing the crime but his note seeking ransom helped the cops to nab him.

The ransom note asked the father of the baby Venkata Venna that "Lata", his wife, Chenchu Latha Punuru, be asked to deliver $50,000 the "Baha Fresh" at the ACME store complex.

Investigators determined that "Lata" is a reference to Chenchu and only some close friends call her with that name. "The First word in the ransom note is 'Shiva'. During the interview, Venkata told investigators that his full name is Venkata Konda Siva Prasad Venna and some of his close friends and family members call him 'Siva'," the affidavit said.

Both Chenchu and Venkata were asked to provide a list of people who had knowledge of the 'Siva' and 'Lata' names. Each provided a list of Indian natives who either used or were aware of these nicknames, Among the names provided by the couple was the name of 'Ragu', who happened to be Raghunanean Yaneadamuri. According Raghunanean alias Ragu, he killed Satyavathi as she resisted the kidnapping of Saanvi.

Raghu told the police that Saanvi began to cry and he stuffed a handkerchief in her mouth to make her stop crying and placed a bath towel around her head to hold the handkerchief in place. "He then put her inside a blue suitcase he found in the bedroom, he took jewellery he found in the apartment and placed that in the suitcase with Saanvi, he then left the apartment and abandoned Saanvi's body hidden in the steam room, of the men's bathroom, of the gymnasium located inside marquis Apartment Building," the affidavit said.

"Raghu then dumped the knife, some of his clothes and the blue suitcase in a dumpster in another part of the Upper Merion Township, he disposed some of the stolen jewellery in the Schuylkill river and said he left some at this place of employment," the police said. The authorities had also announced $50,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the toddler.

The police, in its affidavit, said that Raghunanean told the detectives at the end of his interrogation to tell the media that his wife turned in him so that she could get the $50,000 award announced by the police and Telugu community for information leading to Saanvi.

OneIndia News
(With PTI inputs)