Two minor students, who planned to rob their school principal's house, ended up killing her by stabbing her 27 times, as they feared that she would reveal their crime.
The students, who wanted to steal money and settle scores, had conducted a week-long recce and bought gloves and a knife to carry out the crime.
The details released by Nalgonda police have stunned the two Telugu states.
The incident took place in Kondamallepally village of Nalgonda district. Both the students and the principal belonged to Nagarjuna Public School. The principal, Kallu Roopa Reddy (48), had reprimanded a Class X student for consuming alcohol in the hostel and for using a cell phone. The student developed a grudge against her and decided to teach her a lesson by stealing the fee amount she had collected. He recruited his friend to help with the plan.
The boys observed her movements for a week. On August 11, Roopa Reddy's husband, Rajender Reddy, left for Hyderabad for work, while their son was already away in the city for his studies. Roopa Reddy reached home at 5.30 pm. One student wore a red hoodie and pants to disguise himself. While he kept watch on the street from atop a water tank, the second student entered the principal's house to steal money — the boys had guessed she would have cash at home since the school fees were being collected.
While he was stealing the money, Roopa Reddy spotted him and tried to stop him. The boy panicked, fearing she would expose him, and stabbed her 27 times until she stopped responding. He took Rs 2.5 lakh and fled. Nobody discovered her death until the next morning.
Her husband grew worried when she stopped responding to his calls. He phoned tenants living on the upper portion of the house and asked them to check on her, but they too got no response. They then flagged down a passing sub-inspector, who peered in through different windows and spotted only her leg from the kitchen window. The group broke into the house and found the principal's body lying in a pool of blood.
Police got their first lead from the principal's last phone call, made to her aunt. Midway through the call, she had cried out, "Babu... babu" before falling silent. During the investigation, police learned that the principal would call boys "babu," and suspected that students may have been involved. After questioning all the students, they found that two boys had been absent from school since the murder and were spending money freely.
Police arrested the two on August 18 and recovered ₹1.54 lakh in cash and two smartphones from them. After some questioning, the students reportedly confessed to their crime.
Nalgonda Superintendent of Police Sarath Chandra told a press conference that investigators had also found blood marks and a few currency notes at the scene. The accused have been moved to a juvenile home. Police said they identified the boys after combing through footage from 70 CCTV cameras, which showed a student roaming around in a red hoodie — a detail that ultimately helped crack the case.
In his social media post, Visesh, a Hyderabad-based psychologist, said the case reveals several disturbing tendencies, including instrumental criminal behaviour, consequence blindness and moral disengagement. "It was not the weapon that killed the principal, but the thought process of the students, and they could do that fearlessly," he observed. He urged parents to watch for warning signs such as repeated stealing, substance use, persistent lying, repeated aggression, serious rule violations, cruelty, revenge thinking and a lack of remorse.
He also suggested that school authorities talk to parents when they notice such traits, rather than simply branding children as "bad kids." "Humiliation must be avoided at all costs, as it could act as a trigger — like in this case. The remedial measures must be constructive and scientific. This could be done through school counselling," he concluded.
