Published Jul 14, 2026 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 14, 2026 | 9:38 AM
Police released the video in which the suspect could be heard naming and blaming the victim.
Synopsis: The Future City police recovered a mobile phone from the Shabad murder accused at the site of his death. They found a selfie video recorded days before his alleged death by suicide, in which he blames the victim and explicitly names her. The video is now being shared widely, in a clear violation of POCSO guidelines.
The Future City police on Monday, 13 July, released a video to the media that explicitly names the minor girl, who was sexually assaulted and murdered along with five others in Shabad.
The video, purportedly recorded by Parvathi Raj Kumar — the wanted man in the sextuple murder case — has been circulated widely on social media after the police released it uncensored to the media.
Several media houses that uploaded the video online, too, did not censor or mute the part where the girl’s name was mentioned.
In the video, Kumar could be heard naming the victim, and blaming her for his financial losses and misfortune. The man was found dead at Panjarla village in Kothur Mandal on Hyderabad outskirts on Monday. A pesticide bottle was found near the body.
Identifying a victim/survivor is in violation of Section 23 of the The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act guidelines.
Also Read: Shabad murders accused found dead near Hyderabad, suicide suspected
Incidentally, Kumar was never arrested despite the Shabad police registering a POCSO against him.
“The accused was absconding from the village for 15 days and later obtained anticipatory bail,” Future City Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi replied to a specific question at the news conference.
The anticipatory bail order by the Ranga Reddy District Court revealed that no serious sections of the POCSO Act were included by the police. Instead, the case was registered under bailable sections, despite the victim’s family’s apprehensions, who claimed that Kumar had threatened to kill them.
Commissioner Joshi had earlier shown the video to the media at the scene where Kumar’s body was found. The phone was sealed in an evidence bag, and the officer played the video to the media, with the phone still inside the cover, but pulled it down when the victim’s name came up.
A legal expert said the police should act against those media houses that played the video.
“This violates the POCSO guidelines. The police should immediately issue notices to the media houses to take down the video or part of the video that discloses the victim’s identity. They should also send take down notices to social media handles that have circulated the said video,” Advocate Teja Vardhan told South First.
“Telangana police are experts at sending takedown notices to social media users under IT Act at whim. Maybe the Act should be put to proper use now,” he added.
Also Read: Police finally act against social media doxxing of survivor
Incidentally, this is not the first time the Telangana Police have come under fire for disregarding standard operating procedure in handling POCSO cases.
The delay in the arrest of Bandi Bageerath, son of Union Minister Bandi Sanjay, in a sexual abuse case and the filing of non-bailable sections against him, despite grave accusations, caused widespread public outrage.
The police were also criticised for not acting quickly when the survivor’s identity was leaked and her private pictures and videos were shared on social media. The Cyber Crimes police said that miscreants were identified and cases were booked, but no public update has been provided so far.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
