NELLORE: In a sensational judgment, the 8th additional sessions court in Ongole sentenced a notorious serial killer Munna and 11 of his gang members to death on Monday.
The court also sentenced seven other members of the gang for life. The accused were involved in the murder of 13 persons and there are seven criminal cases booked against them nearly 13 years ago.
The accused murdered, over a period of one year, drivers and cleaners of several lorries plying on Vijayawada-Chennai National Highway No 16 after stopping the vehicles under the guise of police. Their modus operandi was to demand the crew members to produce records after signalling to stop and strangulate them with a rope when they were showing records.
They used to keep the bodies in gunny bags and bury them in nearby forest areas and dispose of the loads. They hired an abandoned godown at Maddepadu to dismantle the lorries and sell the spare parts.
The murder spree continued from 2008 to 2009 with the first case involving dreaded criminal Munna and his gang at Taluk Polie Station, Ongole, on 2008.
Thanks to the efforts of a trainee DSP Damodar, who stumbled upon a small piece of evidence, the police could zero in on the suspect Abdul Sammad alias Munna and his gang.
Munna was already accused of murdering some people after luring them in the name of some hidden treasure. He used to eliminate them after collecting huge sums to unearth the treasure.
The police played a key role in detecting the cases and also in preventing the prime accused Abdul Sammad attempts to secure bail with the help of a political leader. However, he managed to secure bail and left for Bangalore some years ago. However, the Kurnool police arrested him and sent him to remand.
The court found Munna and 18 others guilty in the murders after the arguments concluded in April 2021 with respect to three cases out of the total seven cases.
