Superintendent of Police G. Bindhu Madhav addressing the media in Kakinada on Monday.
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
Kakinada Superintendent of Police G. Bindhu Madhav has said the investigation into the death of Assistant Engineer Nooka Raju and his family members, who jumped into the Godavari from the road-cum-rail bridge in Rajamahendravaram on August 16, has so far not established any link to the alleged ‘Love Jihad’.Responding to questions from reporters about the alleged conspiracy involving ‘Love Jihad’ at a press conference here on Monday, Mr. Bindhu Madhav said a case had been registered against Sk. Sadhik Khan on charges including forcing the victim to convert to another religion, murder and extortion.“We will add charges if the further probe establishes any link to ‘Love Jihad’,” he said.The Sarpavaram police registered a case against Sadhik Khan on July 17 under Sections 103 (1), 127 (3), 108 and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), based on a suicide note purportedly left behind by K. Soujanya, daughter of Mr. Nooka Raju. Soujanya’s father-in-law lodged a written complaint after finding the note in her two-wheeler in Kakinada.On August 16, Mr. Nooka Raju, his wife Meena, daughter Soujanya and 10-year-old grandson jumped into the Godavari from the road-cum-rail bridge in Rajamahendravaram. The grandson survived.“Soujanya and Sadhik Khan had been close for nearly two years, and her family was aware of it. The investigation into the murder of Soujanya’s husband, Jagadeeswara Reddy, is still in progress,” Mr. Bindhu Madhav said.Sadhik Khan was arrested in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, on August 22. The Meerut Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court subsequently granted a transit warrant to bring him to Kakinada.Kakinada In-charge Deputy Superintendent of Police M. Kishore Kumar, who is the investigating officer, said Sadhik Khan had been planning to leave Meerut for Kerala. “He managed to travel for five days with the support of his friends who belong to the rifle-shooting field,” he said.A suicide note purportedly written by Soujanya and shared on X by former MP V. Vijayasai Reddy on Monday alleged that Sadhik Khan had been forcing her to convert to another religion and had threatened to hand over her son to an extremist group if she did not comply. The note also alleged that he had murdered her husband in Hyderabad by administering a chemical poison imported from Canada.According to the note, Sadhik Khan learnt about differences between Soujanya and her husband and approached her when she visited his rifle-shooting academy, where her son was undergoing training. The two subsequently became close, it alleged.“The investigation into the charges mentioned in Soujanya’s suicide note is still in progress,” Mr. Bindhu Madhav said.Sadhik Khan was produced before the Special Mobile Judicial First Class Magistrate’s Court in Kakinada city and was remanded in judicial custody at the Kakinada sub-jail until September 3. Published - August 24, 2026 08:00 pm IST
