In a fresh twist to the Kakinada family suicide case involving the family of Panchayat Raj Assistant Engineer T. Nookaraju, the accused Sadiq Khan has reportedly confessed to attempting to kill Jagadeeswara Reddy, the husband of Nookaraju’s daughter Sowjanya, by mixing cyanide into coconut water. According to his reported statement to police, Sadiq had a motive to marry Sowjanya and believed he would gain access to property worth around Rs 25 crore.
According to reports emerging from the Andhra Pradesh police investigation, Sadiq, who is currently in judicial remand, has been questioned by Sarapavaram police in Kakinada district for three days with the permission of the court.
Sadiq reportedly denied involvement during the first two days of questioning. However, police allegedly confronted him with technical evidence and information about the testimony of persons who had sold him cyanide. He subsequently admitted to attempting to kill Jagadeeswara Reddy, according to the report.
“Yes, I wanted to kill Jagadeeswara Reddy,” Sadiq reportedly told police. He allegedly admitted that he had mixed a poisonous substance into coconut water and given it to Jagadeeswara Reddy on one occasion. He further reportedly claimed that the substance was administered three or four times while Jagadeeswara Reddy was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kakinada.
Sadiq allegedly told investigators that he expected Jagadeeswara Reddy’s health to deteriorate and that he would eventually die. After he was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad, recovered and was discharged, Sadiq reportedly said that he sent cyanide to him. According to his reported statement, Reddy died the following day after using it.
Property motive under question
According to Sadiq’s reported statement, he believed that marrying Sowjanya would give him access to property worth around Rs 25 crore. Sowjanya’s father, T. Nookaraju, reportedly opposed the proposed marriage and told Sadiq that the family property would instead be registered in the name of their grandson and another member of the family.
Sadiq reportedly said he quarrelled with the family over the issue and threatened to kill them. However, he claimed that he had not anticipated that they would die by suicide.
Critics, however, argue that the Rs 25 crore property motive does not explain the entire chain of events. If financial gain was the sole objective, they ask why Sadiq allegedly targeted a married Hindu woman and her husband rather than pursuing a wealthy Muslim family. They say the choice of target itself raises questions about whether the property dispute was the only motive.
The reported procurement and use of cyanide, a deadly substance, has also raised serious questions. Critics say deliberately obtaining such a highly dangerous poison points to a criminal mindset and potentially wider contacts with people involved in criminal activities, particularly when viewed alongside the alleged repeated attempts to poison Sowjanya’s husband.
They also point to Sadiq’s training in rifle shooting and argue that investigators should examine whether his access to weapons-related training and his alleged procurement of cyanide indicate contacts or capabilities beyond the property dispute.
The earlier allegations of pressure on Sowjanya to convert to Islam have added another unresolved question.
Sadiq’s reported attempt to flee to Uttar Pradesh after the Nookaraju family suicide has also come under scrutiny. Critics ask why he would allegedly flee to another State if the dispute was only over property, arguing that he could have remained in Kakinada and faced the investigation or surrendered to police.
They contend that the escape, the cyanide episode, the Islamic religious conversion pressure and the targeting of Sowjanya’s husband need to be examined together before the motive behind the family’s suicide can be fully understood.
