Nellore: The Gudur police on Saturday held nine persons involved in the murder of a sorcerer at Marlapudi forest area of Saidapuram mandal in SPSR Nellore district about two years back. The accused were involved in treasure hunting and the victim Pitla Rathnaiah was performing some rituals for the gang to locate the hidden treasure.
In this backdrop, the gang dug up a 20 feet deep and 20 feet wide trench in Marlapudi forest area with the help of an earth moving machine in search of treasure in October 2015. They summoned Rathnaiah to the spot on October 28, 2015 when they failed to find the treasure. One of the accused, Jagalinki Venkata Ramana hit Rathnaiah on the head with a boulder when the latter was performing a ritual under the plea that they can unearth the treasure if they sacrifice him to the evil powers.
In a bid to showcase the murder as an accident, the accused dumped the body on Rapur Road near Tippireddypalle on the same night. After noticing the body, police registered a case of suspicious death on October 29, 2015. The police managed to arrest the gang after one of the accused Talari Joreypalli surrendered to them through the village revenue officer of Chikavolu few days back. The accused are natives of Podalakur, Nellore, Gudur and Saidapuram areas. Gudur DSP V.S. Rambabu appreciated the team involved in the investigation for nabbing the accused.
