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Updated April 8th, 2023 at 15:57 IST

Police arrests four people in Andhra Pradesh techie murder case

Police swooped in on the accused hiding near a Shiva temple by a hillock near Rekala Cheruvu (pond) at Anupalle village in Chandragiri mandal of Chittoor district on Thursday evening.

Arrest
Image: PTI (Representational Image) | Image:self
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Police arrested four people in Tirupati who accused of murdering an Andhra Pradesh techie recently, who was striving to amicably resolve an extra-marital affair dispute involving his younger brother.

The four men -- Batte Ripunjaya, Peta Gopinath Reddy, Appana Ramesh and Appana Kumar -- were arrested while another accused Chanikya Prathap is still on the run, a police official said on Saturday.

Police swooped in on the accused hiding near a Shiva temple by a hillock near Rekala Cheruvu (pond) at Anupalle village in Chandragiri mandal of Chittoor district on Thursday evening.

"This murder was a premeditated one. Nagaraju was murdered and put in the front seat of the car, doused with petrol and set ablaze… (Nagaraju's brother) Purushottam’s affair with Ripunjaya’s wife was the primary reason. We are opening rowdy sheets on the accused," the police official said.

Incidentally, the alleged affair has resulted in tensions between neighbours in Brahmanapalli village, Veduru Kuppam mandal in Chittoor district.

Nagaraju was murdered on April 1 in Tirupati district between Chandragiri and R P Puram, which came to light after some passersby noticed the blaze and posted videos on social media.

According to police, Nagaraju’s family came to know that Ripunjaya had planned to kill Purushottam because of an alleged affair with his wife. Meanwhile, Purushottam was sent to Bengaluru even as his brother continued efforts to settle the issue peacefully.

Nagaraju's efforts did not help pacify Ripunjaya, who also did not like certain remarks made by the former. Later, Ripunjaya, as per plan, got Nagaraju drunk and later set him ablaze and tried to roll the car down into a stream to make it appear as an accident.

Earlier, police said Ripunjaya and Purushottam were originally good friends but the alleged affair broke their friendship.

"Recently, Ripunjaya complained to the electricity department over an illegal power connection at Purushottam's family's field which resulted in a Rs 25,000 penalty," a police official said.

Incidentally, Nagaraju was employed with software firm TCS and so was his brother.

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Published April 8th, 2023 at 15:57 IST

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