Caretaker, husband arrested for retired engineer’s murder in Vijayawada

Based on CCTV footages and mobile call data of the two accused, Machavaram police cracked the murder case of retired assistant engineer B. Venkata Rama Rao, which occurred at NTR Colony in Vijayawada on July 10.

The police identified that the accused, Pallapu Manga alias Anusha and her husband Vemireddy Upender Reddy, escaped in an auto auto passing through Machavaram police station en route to Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) and boarded a bus to Nellore, after allegedly killing Mr. Rama Rao.

Speaking to the media here on Monday, Central Zone Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) K. Damodar said that Anusha, a native of Kothagudem in Telangana, and a mother of three children, had been staying away from her husband due to family disputes.

A year ago, Anusha married Upender Reddy, who met her through an app. The two were staying in Nulakapeta village of Tadepalli mandal in Guntur district, where Anusha worked as caretaker at Mr. Rama Rao’s house to take care of his 92-year-old mother Saraswathi. Interestingly, the murder happened just few days after she joined for work.

Realising that there was cash and valuables at the house, the couple planned to kill Rama Rao and escape with it. Accordingly, Anusha called up Upender, who arrived at the house with chilly powder on July 10 night. “Anusha sprinkled chilly powder in Rama Rao’s eyes, and held his legs tightly, while Upender sat on the victim’s chest, gagged his mouth and suffocated him to death with a pillow. Later, they opened the iron safe and escaped with ₹90,000 cash,” said Machavaram Circle Inspector (CI) Ch. Prakash.

After committing the crime, the accused escaped to Nellore, then Chennai, and later Srikalahasti to have darshan in the temple. Police, who tracked their mobile phones, arrested the two when they reached Nulakapeta to vacate their house, and seized ₹41,000 cash from their possession, the ACP said.