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The police in Telangana's Nalgonda have cracked the sensational murder case of a 48-year-old school principal and arrested two students who allegedly planned the crime for money and lavish spending. On the morning of August 12, Kallu Roopa Reddy, the principal and director of Nagarjuna Public School in Kondamallepally, was discovered dead at her Kondamallepally home with 27 stab wounds. Her body was recovered when her husband, who was away in Hyderabad, informed neighbours that she was not responding to his phone calls. The neighbours alerted the police, who found her dead.

Following the formation of five squads, the police questioned more than 80 persons while reviewing CCTV video, forensic evidence, fingerprints, technological data, and suspect movements.

Rupa Reddy's usage of the word "babu" during a call with her aunt before the phone was turned off gave the detectives a clue."Babu" was the final word heard during her chat. Senior police officer Sharath Chandra Pawar told reporters on Wednesday, "We looked into who she might have been referring to, and this led us toward the school students."

The investigators then questioned students individually and zeroed in on five class 10 students who remained absent from school. They found out that two of them were spending a lot of money in the last few days and throwing parties.

The two students were then detained on Wednesday morning, and during interrogation, they confessed that they murdered Rupa Reddy as per a plan, Pawar said. The officer said the accused had previously been reprimanded by Rupa Reddy after cash and a mobile phone were found in their hostel bags. She informed their parents, and they were shifted from the hostel to day-scholar status. Police suspect this may have contributed to resentment against the principal.

How Did They Plan The Crime?

The accused performed a reconnaissance of her residence and plotted the crime for five days. In order to conceal their identity, they bought gloves and a knife, which originally left detectives with little tangible evidence.

Wearing gloves and a monkey cap, one of the students broke into the residence on the day of the murder. He fled after seeing Rs 2.50 lakh stored in the bedroom. But as the monkey cap dislodged, Roopa Reddy spotted him. He stabbed her 27 times with a knife out of fear that she might recognise them.

The accused stole money after the murder and tried to hide evidence by burying the monkey headgear and bloodstained garments. They allegedly travelled to Goa as well. Rs 1.54 lakh cash, including some currency notes with blood stains, an iPhone purchased by the accused and Rupa Reddy's phone were recovered from the accused. The two accused had also searched a video-sharing platform for how to earn money quickly before executing their plan.