Bapatla: Rival in love kills youth; arrested with accomplice

VIJAYAWADA: Bapatla police arrested two for murdering a youth in love and throwing his body in a canal last month. The murdered person has been identified as Dontena Ravikiran (24), resident of Nagendrapuram village in Bapatla mandal.

Ravikiran had been in love with a girl doing her engineering at a college in Chirala. At the birthday party of the girl, Putla Prem Diven Kumar alias Chinna warned Ravikiran to leave the girl alone, claiming he had been in love with her for the past four years. However, as the affair between the two continued, Chinna decided to eliminate Ravikiran.

He took the help of Sheikh Sahul Roshan and kidnapped Ravikiran in a car. They took him near Care School in Maruproluvaripalem and strangulated him with a wire within the car. Chinna and Roshan tied stones to the body of Ravikiran using a G.I. wire and threw his body into the Yara canal.

On August 23, Bapatla Rural VRO phoned Bapatla Rural police about an unidentified dead body tied with stones and G.I. wire being found under the footbridge on the road from Gudipudi village to Karlapalem.

The deceased's father and younger brother Dontina Suribabu identified the deceased as Ravikiran the same day. Police registered a case, started investigations and unearthed facts behind the case. Both Chinna and Roshan have been arrested.

Bapatla district SP Vakul Jindal congratulated the police team for swift cracking of the mystery behind the murder.