Six members of a family, among them three women and two children, were hacked to death by their neighbour, who had a grudge against the family head as per TOI. 

It took place in Juttada under Pendurthi police station limits in Vizag. The victims included a six-month-old baby.

What happened?
Police said that one of the men of the victim’s family was accused of raping the assailant’s daughter in 2018 and is believed to be the main target of the attack. 

However, the rape accused and his eldest son were not in the house when the attack took place and are now the only survivors of the family. 

The assailant, who had allegedly been waiting for an opportunity to kill the rape accused, entered the house in the early hours of Thursday after he found out that the family had returned to the locality after two years to attend a wedding. 

He hacked the victims one after another with a sickle. Bodies were found strewn at different places in the house with blood all around. 

Officials added that the assailant did not run away after committing the crime. He was arrested from the spot with the bloody sickle in his hand. 

The dead included the rape accused’s father (57), wife (30), son (2), daughter (6 months), and mother-in-law (53). 

A distant relative, who was present in the house, was also killed.

The family had been living in Vijayawada after the rape case was registered.

Incident dates back to 2018
Police officials said the rape accused, though married, had become close to the assailant’s daughter. In 2018, he had allegedly called the girl to his house and offered her a soft drink laced with a sedative. When she fell unconscious, he allegedly raped her several times.

The man was arrested in the rape case and was out on bail. Police claimed that his wife was also accused of blackmailing the rape survivor by showing her semi-nude photos and demanding money from her. His other relatives also resorted to blackmailing the girl.

The police had registered a rape case after the girl’s brother noticed threatening Whatsapp messages on her phone and lodged a complaint. When the girl’s family questioned the man and his family, the latter allegedly threatened them with dire consequences.

The killer hacked the victims one after another with a sickle. Bodies were found strewn at different places in the house with blood all around.