Murdered girl student’s friends being questioned

HYDERABAD - A day after the gruesome murder of a girl student by her senior, Hyderabad police Monday were questioning two of their friends.

Shekhar Goud, who killed engineering final year student Divya by smashing her head with a baseball bat, is still at large and police have formed special teams to arrest him.

Police suspect it to be a case of sexual jealousy as Divya had been avoiding him of late and had befriended another boy, Pradeep.

The body of 20-year-old Divya, student of Vignan Engineering College on the city outskirts, was handed over to her relatives after an autopsy at Osmania Hospital.

Shekhar had invited Divya to his flat at Hill Colony in Vanasthalipuram Sunday evening for talks to sort out some differences which had of late cropped up between them.

After killing Divya, Shekhar sent an SMS to Pradeep saying he had eliminated her and wanted to end his life. Alerted by Pradeep, police found the body of the girl in his flat.

Police were questioning Pradeep and another friend of Vidya.

Meanwhile, women and students’ groups staged a protest at Vanasthalipuram police station demanding capital punishment to Shekhar. They alleged that the government had failed to act though such incidents were taking place regularly.

Divya’s father Madhusudhan Rao, who works with Mahindra and Mahindra in Kolkata, returned along with his wife Susheela. The girl was staying with her relatives in Habsiguda area.

Shekhar, who completed his engineering last year, is a native of Nalgonda district but his father Venkatesham Goud works in Mumbai