Man, mother held for sorcery-linked murder in Mancherial

A man and his mother were arrested in Mancherial district for allegedly murdering a woman over suspicions of sorcery. Police said the accused hacked the victim to death with an axe after his mother fell ill, and later fled the scene. Authorities warned of stern action against violence rooted in superstitious beliefs.

Mancherial: A man and his mother were on Wednesday arrested on charges of murdering a woman at Nelkiventapur village in Dandepalli mandal on Tuesday night. Police seized an axe, mobile phone and a motorcycle from them.

Briefing details of the arrest to media persons in Luxettipet, Mancherial ACP R Prakash and Luxettipet Inspector Ramana Murthy said that Singathi Ramesh and Singathi Rambai from Nelki Venkatapur were apprehended for their alleged involvement in the killing of Singathi Laxmi (45) from the same village over suspected sorcery.

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During an interrogation, Ramesh reportedly confessed to hacking Laxmi to death suspecting she was practicing sorcery after his mother fell ill. He admitted to attacking her with an axe while she sat outside her house with Rambai safeguarding him. He disclosed that they both fled the scene after murdering Laxmi.

Earlier, a murder case had been registered against Ramesh based on a complaint received from Laxmi’s husband. Two special teams have been formed to nab Ramesh and Rambai. The teams managed to apprehend the two.

Prakash cautioned stern action would be taken against anyone resorting to violence in the name of superstitious beliefs.

Meanwhile, DCP A Bhaskar commended Prakash, Ramana Murthy, SIs Rajyavardhan, Uday Kiran, Suresh and staffers for nabbing the duo.