2 held in Vyshnavi murder case

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a nine-year-old girl in Vijayawada this week, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister P Sabita Reddy said here on Thursday. "Two persons have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and killing of Vyshnavi," she told reporters here after meeting the mother of the girl. She, however, refused to divulge further details regarding investigation of the case. Vyshnavi's father P Prabhakar, a prominent liquor businessman, died of shock and heart attack after coming to know about the killing of his daughter. The government would soon decide on setting up a fast track court to try the kidnap and killing of Vyshnavi, the minister said. Chief Minister K Rosaiah had said the government would consider setting up a fast track court to try the case that triggered a public outcry in the state. Vyshnavi was abducted on January 30 while she was going to school along with her brother in a car. The kidnappers killed the car driver, who tried to resist them, while the girl's brother managed to escape from their clutches. The burnt body of Vyshnavi was found in a boiler inside a factory at Autonagar in Guntur, 60 km from Vijaywada on February 1. She was believed to have been murdered on January 30 itself. Reddy said the government would support the driver's family. "I am moved by the condition of driver's family. He has small children. The government is ready to give a job to his wife, if she is ready to take up," Reddy said. There was no failure on the part of the police of Vijayawada and Guntur in dealing with the case, she said. Though Prabhakar did not reveal the possible hand of his relatives in the kidnapping, police managed to identify and arrest the accused, the minister said. Venkat Rao Goud, the brother of Prabhakar's first wife, was reportedly behind the killing of Vyshnavi due to property disputes. The victim is the daughter of Prabhakar's second wife.