In a suspected case of ‘witchcraft’ for hidden treasure, four members of a family, including a 10-year-old girl, were found dead under mysterious circumstances at their residence in Nagapur village of Revally mandal in Wanaparty district here on Friday.
The victims are Aziram Bi (63), her daughter Asma Begum (35), son-in-law Khaza Pasha (42), and granddaughter Haseena (11).
Wanaparthy Superintendent of Police Apoorva Rao, who rushed to the spot, said that bodies were found lying at different places in the house.
While Aziram’s body was found in the kitchen, Asma and her daughter Haseena’s were lying dead in different bedrooms. “Khaza was found dead on the veranda of the house, next to a pit he was allegedly digging for treasure. Coconuts were found next to every dead body,” she said, adding that the victims were frothing at the mouth.
The investigators are also found lemons, eggs, bangles, attar bottle, and other pooja materials in the house. They also noticed a few pits in and around the house reportedly dug for finding treasure.
“There are no resistance marks on the bodies. We suspect that the family members could have consumed some poisonous substance while performing pooja and succumbed,” Ms. Rao said, adding that the exact reason will be known only after the post mortem.
Aziram, who supplies Unani medicines to locals, lived alone in the village, located around 50 km from the district headquarters., Her daughter's family used live in Nagarkurnool and earn their living by selling vegetables.
On August 12, her daughter came to Aziram's house with her family, a day after Haseena turned 11 years. The Police suspect the family tried some ritual on the same night.
The incident came to light around 8 a.m. when one of the villagers went to their house to get a medicine, the officer said.
The bodies were shifted to Government Hospital morgue for autopsy. A case of suspicious death has been registered.
