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Hyderabad | Hyderabad police on Wednesday intensified search operations in the city to apprehend the accused in the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl.

Several teams comprising hundreds of policemen were engaged in search operations in the limits of three police commissionerates – Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda.

A day after announcing Rs 10 lakh reward for anyone providing information leading to arrest of the fugitive Pallakonda Raju, police released wanted posters with his pictures.

Police personnel were seen pasting posters on walls, buses and auto-rickshaws. Some were explaining to citizens about how the accused looks.

As Raju is said to a habitual drunkard, police were keeping a tight vigil around the liquor shops in the limits of all three police commissionerates.

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Police have also taken up vehicle checking on the state borders to stop him from fleeing to neighbouring states.

The six-year-old was sexually assaulted and murdered on September 9 by her neighbour Raju in Singareni Colony of Saidabad area. The body of the girl was found in his house after midnight.

With pressure mounting on the state government over its alleged failure to track down the culprit nearly a week after the incident, Director General of Police M. Mahender Reddy was personally monitoring the case. He directed the Police Commissioners to intensify the search operation.

Personnel of the Commissioner’s Task Force and the Special Operation Team (SOT) were also roped in for the massive search operations.

The accused was seen in CCTV footage in LB Nagar area a day after he committed the horrific crime. He reportedly consumed liquor in a permit room there, and police were specially focusing on the area and its surroundings. Earlier, he was also spotted in the old city area.

As the accused is likely to change his appearance to evade arrest, the police on Wednesday released few computer generated most probable disguised images.

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Meanwhile, Telanana Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali said that all efforts were made to apprehend Raju. He held a meeting with the Director General of Police, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar, and other police officers to review the case.

Mahmood Ali told the officers that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is serious about the incident and instructed them to take speedy measures to trace out and arrest the accused. He directed the officers to ensure that the accused is apprehended as soon as possible and necessary action taken as per law.

He directed the officers to investigate the case from all angles, deploy special search teams and also give wide publicity by publishing the available photographs, video clips of the accused through print and electronic media.

After the meeting, the Home Minister stated that the Chief Minister felt very sad about the incident, expressed condolences to the bereaved family, and assured that the family will be provided all the help and support from the state government.

Mahmood Ali said that all necessary measures are being taken to see that the accused is arrested, investigation completed, and charge sheet filed as soon as possible. He said efforts will be made to ensure that accused gets stringent punishment as per law on lines of a similar case in Warangal – where the investigation was completed speedily and the accused was sentenced to death by the trial court in a very short period.

IANS

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