A 35-year-old man, an accused in a POCSO case, allegedly killed six people—his two children and three members of the family that had filed a complaint against him among them—in neighbouring Rangareddy district, police said on Saturday.
The accused allegedly killed the victims at different locations in Shabad mandal late on Friday night, police said.
P Rajkumar, a farmer, initially went to the house of the minor girl in Shabad town and killed her mother and maternal grandmother, who were asleep, Future City Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi told reporters.
He then took the minor girl in a car to his native village of Dhaivalguda and stabbed her to death near a lake.
The accused did not harm the minor girl's elder sister, a person with physical and intellectual disabilities, when he targeted the other family members at their house, police said.
Rajkumar subsequently went to his house, about 250 metres from the lake, and killed his wife (in her 30s) and his two sons, aged four and one-and-a-half years, who were all asleep, the commissioner said.
The man was booked under the POCSO Act for stalking and harassing the minor girl in May this year, based on a complaint filed by the girl's family.
He had recently secured anticipatory bail in the case, police said.
The accused used a sickle and a knife to stab the victims and slit their throats.
Immediately after the murders, the accused called his father and confessed to the crimes, telling him that he was going to take his own life, police said, adding that he then switched off his phone. The parents of the accused then reported the matter to the police. Rajkumar fled the scene and remains absconding. The six bodies were sent to a hospital for post-mortem examination.
Telangana Minister for Panchayat Raj and Women and Child Welfare D Anasuya Seethakka directed officials to take stringent action against the accused, expedite the investigation, and ensure justice for the victims' family.