HYDERABAD: When 30-year-old Rajitha, a teacher from Ameenpur mandal in Sangareddy district, rushed to the hospital on March 27 claiming she and her three children had fallen sick after eating curd rice, her husband and neighbours were in a shock.

The three kids – 12-year-old Sai Krishna, 10-year-old Madhu Priya, and eight-year-old Gautam – were already dead, and she appeared to be in distress. But something didn’t add up.
What initially seemed like a case of food-poisoning quickly unravelled into something far more sinister – a cold-blooded murder plot driven by Rajitha’s affair with her former classmate, Sooru Shiva Kumar. Overwhelmed by her desire to marry Shiva, she suffocated her own children one by one, then faked an illness to cover up her crime, all for a new life with her lover, police said.
A week later, police cracked the case. Sangareddy DSP Paritosh Pankaj revealed the details on Wednesday.
Rajitha had been unhappy in her marriage to A Chennaiah, a 50-year-old water tanker driver who was 20 years her senior. Chennaiah’s first wife had passed away during childbirth, and in 2013, he married Rajitha, with whom he had three children. However, she reportedly always resented their life together.
School reunion
Her chance at escape came when she reconnected with Shiva, 30, while planning a school reunion. What started as friendly conversations quickly turned into an affair, with the two meeting frequently and developing a physical relationship.
But when Rajitha expressed her desire to marry him, Shiva, a private firm employee, hesitated. He told her he would consider marriage only if she didn’t have a husband and children.
Cold-blooded killings
On March 27, when Chennaiah left for work at 10pm, Rajitha saw an opportunity. Earlier that evening, at 6 pm, she called Shiva and confirmed her plan. Shiva urged her not to delay. “One by one, she suffocated her children to death. First, she tied a towel tightly over Sai Krishna’s nose and mouth, holding it until he stopped breathing. Next, she repeated the same method on Madhu Priya, pressing down with calculated force. She ended Gautam’s life in the same brutal way,” the SP said.
Fake alibi
After ensuring all three children were dead, Rajitha calmly staged the scene – arranging their bodies to make it appear as if they had lost consciousness after dinner.
When Chennaiah returned home, Rajitha pretended to be in pain, clutching her stomach and claiming she felt sick. She told him the children had also fallen ill after eating curd rice. In a panic, Chennaiah rushed to get help from neighbours to take her to the hospital. That’s when he stumbled upon his three children, who were already dead. Overwhelmed with grief, his only concern was saving his wife and rushed her to hospital.
When the autopsy report revealed that the children had no signs of food-poisoning, suspicion fell on Rajitha. Under intense interrogation, Rajitha finally broke down. She admitted that Shiva was aware of her plan.
Both Rajitha and Shiva were arrested. Shiva hails from Nalgonda district, while Rajitha belongs to Thalakondapalli in Rangareddy.