Andhra Police Hunt for Shooting Academy Coach After Family Suicide; Shooting Coach Accused of Harassment

August 18, 2026

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Police have launched a search for Sadhik Khan, founder and coach of a shooting academy in Kakinada, after a government employee, his wife and daughter allegedly died by suicide by jumping into the Godavari river in Rajamahendravaram.

Ten teams of the Rajamahendravaram and Kakinada police are searching for Khan following allegations made in a suicide note left by K. Nooka Raju, an Assistant Engineer with the Panchayat Raj Department in Pithapuram mandal of Kakinada district.

Raju, his wife Meena, 58, and their daughter Sowjanya, 38, along with their 10-year-old grandson Karthikya Reddy, jumped into the Godavari from the Road-cum-Rail bridge in Rajamahendravaram on Sunday night.

The boy survived after fisherfolk found him unconscious on an island in the river and rescued him.

Suicide note alleges harassment of daughter

The body of 61-year-old Raju was recovered on Monday evening, while the search for his wife and daughter continued on Tuesday with the help of SDRF personnel and expert divers.

According to police, a suicide note found in Raju’s car alleged that Khan had been harassing his daughter following the recent death of her husband, Jagdish Reddy.

In the note addressed to the Kakinada District Collector and Superintendent of Police, Raju allegedly accused Khan of repeatedly approaching his daughter and promising to take care of her. He further alleged that Khan had threatened to kill him and his grandson after the family rejected his proposal.

Raju also alleged that Khan had taken valuables belonging to the family and said they decided to take the extreme step after allegedly being unable to bear the harassment faced by his daughter.

Based on the suicide note and a statement from Raju’s grandson, police registered a case against Khan under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for alleged abetment of suicide.

Allegations emerge over daughter’s husband’s death

The case took another turn on Tuesday after Bhaskar Reddy, the father of Sowjanya’s late husband Jagdish Reddy, filed a complaint alleging that Khan may have been involved in his son’s death.

Bhaskar Reddy claimed that Jagdish died on July 2 after a poisonous substance was allegedly injected into him. He expressed suspicion about the involvement of Khan and another person and sought an investigation into the circumstances of his son’s death.

According to the complaint, Bhaskar Reddy learnt about new developments after speaking to his grandson Karthikya Reddy, who had been learning rifle shooting at Khan’s academy.

He alleged that after Jagdish’s death, Khan began visiting the family home and tried to get closer to Sowjanya.

A separate case has been registered at Sarpavaram police station in Kakinada based on Bhaskar Reddy’s complaint.

Police also recovered a few letters from Sowjanya’s car during the investigation into the family deaths.

Pawan Kalyan asks police to speed up probe

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan spoke to Kakinada SP G. Bindu Madhav and East Godavari SP D. Narasimha Kishore and directed them to expedite the investigation.

Police teams are continuing their search for Sadhik Khan while the investigation into the alleged harassment, the family deaths and the circumstances surrounding Jagdish Reddy’s death is underway.

The allegations against Khan are under investigation and have not been independently established.