Telangana: 60-year-old stone-cutter, son-in-law held for murders, robberies

Nizamabad Police Commissioner KR Nagaraju said the suspects targeted lonely women with a knife and stick and fled with their gold and silver ornaments.

Hyderabad: A 60-year-old stone cutter, A Mallaiah, who was allegedly involved in 11 cases including three murders, two dacoities and seven robberies, was arrested by the Nizamabad district police on Monday along with his son-in-law M Poshetty.

Nizamabad Police Commissioner KR Nagaraju said the suspects targeted lonely women with a knife and stick and fled with their gold and silver ornaments. They had killed 56-year-old P Lakshmi, a resident of Chandrashekhar Colony in Nizamabad and dumped the body in a forest area. The incident came to light when Lakshmi’s son Shiva Kumar lodged a complaint with the Makloor police station stating that his mother, who went to his sister Latha’s house in Kothapally on August 24, was missing.

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Shiva Kumar said his father Balaraju had helped Lakshmi hire an auto-rickshaw from Kothapally to Chandrashekhar Colony. Balaraju had asked the auto driver Poshetty to drop Lakshmi at Nandipet. After she went missing, the police who searched Deekampally forest area, found her body. With the particulars given by Balaraju, the police later picked up Poshetty and Mallaiah and questioned them, after which they admitted to the crime. Police then found that Mallaiah was involved in 11 cases in erstwhile Medak, Nizamabad and Karimnagar districts.

The Police Commissioner said after Lakshmi boarded the auto at Kothapally, Poshetty took the auto to Deekampally forest area where Mallaiah attacked her with a knife repeatedly and dumped the body in the forest before making away with her ornaments.

The police recovered gold ornaments weighing 15 tolas from Mallaiah.