The Congress leader’s daughter-in-law previously filed a case of harassment against him and sat on a protest in front of his house with her three children. The Congress leader’s daughter-in-law previously filed a case of harassment against him and sat on a protest in front of his house with her three children.

Former Congress MP and Warangal Congress leader Sircilla Rajaiah’s daughter-in-law and three of her sons were burnt alive in their bedroom early Wednesday morning. They were residing on the first floor of Rajaiah’s house.

Sarika, mother of three sons Abhinav, 9, Ayon, 5, and Sriyan, 3, died after a LPG gas leak in the bedroom caused the explosion killing all four. Police said that prima facie it appears that Sarika committed suicide along with her sons, but Warangal Police Commissioner Sudhir Babu said that they will investigate other angles also. “We will investigate all angles… if there is any foul play we will come to know of it,” Babu said.

Rajaiah’s son S Anil and Sarika married in 2002 after they fell in love. However, the couple fell apart and had recently started living separately in the three-storey bungalow of Rajaiah in Warangal city.

While Anil lived on the groundfloor, his wife Sarika lived in two rooms on the first floor, while Rajaiah and his wife lived on the top floor in a penthouse. Rajaiah, who was nominated by the Congress to contest the Warangal Lok Sabha bypoll, had filed his nomination papers on Monday and was supposed to launch his campaign on Wednesday at 11 am.

Warangal Police Commissioner Sudhir Babu said that at 6:30 am fire and thick smoke was seen emanating out of the first floor of Rajaiah’s house followed by an explosion. Rajaiah’s daughter-in-law had earlier filed harassment cases against her husband Anil and Rajaiah himself, according to Archana, Sarika’s sister. “Rajaiah and his wife and her husband Anil were always harassing her. Last year she had come home and confessed that it was becoming difficult to live in Rajaiah’s house but we comforted and counseled her and she went back. She filed police cases against Anil and Rajaiah also in Warangal. My sister is not the kind to commit suicide. We suspect that she has been killed by Rajaiah’s family,” her sister Archana said.

Sarika’s mobile phone was destroyed in the fire and police is collecting call data records. Cops have determined that Sarika probably moved two LPG cylinders to the bedroom early in the morning while her sons were asleep and caused a leak before setting fire in the bedroom which caused the explosion. Congress leaders reached Rajaiah’s residence, where he collapsed due to shock and was seen crying inconsolably.

Warangal Police Commissioner Sudheer Babu said “we have found four bodies- one woman and four children. They are all charred beyond recognition.”

Officials said that the body of the eldest son Abhinav was found near the door of the bedroom indicating that he tried to escape the fire but as the door was locked from inside he could not open it in time.

Meanwhile, Telangana Congress leaders convened an emergency meeting to decide whether to continue S Rajaiah as the candidate for the Warangal (SC) Lok Sabha bypoll on November 21 or change the candidate. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy called up AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh and suggested to change the candidate as continuing with Rajaiah may spell trouble for the party in the bypolls. The Warangal (SC) bypoll was necessitated after TRS MP Kadiam Srihari, who was inducted into the Telangana Rashtra Samiti Government cabinet by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao, resigned and the seat fell vacant.

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