Police crack year-old murder case; three arrested, two including wife of deceased at large

The Dharmavaram rural police of Sri Sathya Sai district on Monday arrested three accused in a year-old murder case. Addressing a press conference here, Superintendent of Police V. Ratna said that Alle Manjunath (32), a driver from Pothukunta village of Dharmavaram mandal, was murdered on April 22, 2024, and following a detailed investigation, the police identified five people involved in the crime and nabbed three, while the other two accused are at large.

The police had initially registered a suspicious death case, but later altered it to murder, following a detailed investigation guided by vital clues and technical evidence.

Manjunath had married Yamuna twelve years ago and the couple had a son and daughter. Manjunath had reportedly developed an addiction for liquor which drove him into financial troubles and family disputes. Against this backdrop, Yamuna got into an extra-marital relationship with one Siddappa alias Siddu (31), a farmer from Roddam mandal. Siddappa hatched a conspiracy to kill Manjunath under pressure from Yamuna and sought support from three of his friends.

On the night of April 22, 2024, the accused lured Manjunath to a dry rivulet bed under the pretext of a “liquor party”. Later, Siddappa and his friends strangled him with a towel, and buried the body in the sand.

The arrested were identified as Siddappa, Noor Mohammed (25), and Madan Mohan alias Moddula Mohan (38). A special team has been formed to nabbed the other accused Mohan and Yamuna.

The SP said that a special team led by Deputy SP (Dharmavaram) Hemant Kumar led the arrests. The police who exhumed the body had sent the remnants for forensic tests and the accused were sent to remand.

Published - June 02, 2025 06:58 pm IST