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Guntur couple held for murder in Hyderabad

The suspects were in an extra-marital affair and had eloped to Hyderabad leaving their spouses and children a few months ago

By Telangana Today

Published Date - 3 March 2021, 08:40 PM

Guntur couple held for murder in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: A couple who targeted two women, killing one of them before stealing their jewelery, was arrested by the Shadnagar police here on Wednesday.

The suspects, G.Venkateshwar Rao (33), a mason and S.Nagalaxmi (30), a homemaker, both natives of Guntur of Andhra Pradesh were in an extra-marital affair and had eloped to Hyderabad leaving their spouses and children a few months ago. According to the police, posing as husband and wife, they took a house on rent at Ram Nagar Colony in Chattanpally in Shadnagar in November last year. They got close with the house-owner A.Suvarna (45) and her husband Balram.

“Suvarna was mostly alone in the house as her husband went to work and returned late. Due to financial constraints, they eyed her jewelry and decided to eliminate her and steal it,” said N. Prakash Reddy, DCP (Shamshabad), adding that Rao, posing as a patient, procured 10 sleeping pills from a medical shop at Chattanpally and on November 22, bought two packets of toddy from Shadnagar and mixed five pills in one of the packets. Being a Sunday, they called Suvarna home on the pretext of partying and gave her toddy and food.

“Suvarna fell unconscious, after which they strangulated her to death and fled the spot with her jewelry after locking the room from outside,” the DCP said.

The couple then traveled to Guntur and Suryapet with the stolen jewelry and borrowed Rs 1.6 lakh by pledging it at Muthoot Finance in Suryapet. They then went to Bengaluru and after staying there for a month, returned to Guntur and then to Ghatkesar in February when the money was exhausted.

“They again took a house for rent and targeted the houseowner Laxmi and decamped with her jewelry by lacing her food with sedatives,” police said, adding that they were caught when they were trying to take back the gold they had pledged. Rao, police said, was earlier involved in several cases and was arrested as well.