TIRUPATI: The Prakasam district police have solved the mystery behind the murder of a 35-year-old woman, M. Radha, whose body was found on the road near Jillellapadu under Veligandla mandal a few days ago.
Police arrested her husband, Kota Mohan Reddy (35), a software engineer working in Hyderabad.
According to SP Mallika Garg, Mohan committed the crime due to his marital and financial conflicts with Radha. "The couple loaned Rs 50 lakh to Kasi Reddy, Radha's childhood friend. He failed to return it and this led to repeated arguments between the wife and husband.
While the woman’s family initially suspected that Kasi Reddy killed her, police investigation showed that Mohan devised the plan to murder his wife ten days ago.
SP Mallika said, "The financial dispute with Kasi Reddy strained the couple's relationship. Mohan used to hold animosity towards his wife, blaming her for the loss. He also suspected she was having an affair with Kasi. Hence, he was looking for an opportunity to finish her off."
Radha and her two children went to her native place on May 11 to take part in the Chowdeshwari festival. Mohan planned to murder Radha and obtained a new SIM card to call her. He took a cell phone from a sugarcane juice vendor on Sangareddy-Patancheru Road, pretending that his phone was defunct. He removed the vendor's sim card, put the new SIM card in the phone and sent a message to Radha in the name of Kasi Reddy.
"The accused sent messages to Radha in the name of Kasi using various cell phones. He arrived in Kanigiri on May 17 evening and texted Radha to meet him at the Pamuru bus station to receive a part of the payment. Accordingly, Radha reached there.
Mohan went to the bus stand and asked his wife why she was there. He took her to the government college on Kanigiri-Pamuru road and picked a fight with her there.
"He strangled her to death and took her body by car to Jillellapadu crossroad, where he laid it on the road. He ran the car over the body to create the impression of a road accident," the SP said.
The police checked Radha's call list and found an SMS from an unknown sender.
They traced it to the sugarcane juice vendor. The vendor identified Mohan from the photos shown by the police. Mohan was arrested. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime, the SP said.
