NELLORE: Sullurpeta police have launched a search operation to track down a man for allegedly murdering his 25-year-old wife Battala Venkata Latha at Kudiritippa Kandriga village, in Sullurpeta mandal, late on Thursday night. Based on a complaint from the victim’s parents, police formed teams to arrest the husband identified as Battala Surendra.
According to Sullurpeta sub inspector K. Indrasena Reddy, Surendra belongs to Kudiritippa Kandriga and he had married Latha of Kavalimitta village in Ramapuram Panchayat of Tada mandal, around 12 years ago.
The couple have a son and a daughter from the marriage. Suresh and his mother Parvatamma had been allegedly harassing Latha for additional dowry after the marriage and they had gone to the extent of setting her on fire, after pouring kerosene on her, in 2006.
Neighbours saved Latha and the police filed a case against the mother and the son then. The duo managed to escape from the case then, after compromising with Latha, but resumed the harassment for extra dowry, after a few years. They had been urging Latha to dispose of a piece of land, worth '20 lakhs, in her village and to give the money to them but she has been refusing to entertain the demand.
Against this backdrop, Surendra and Parvatam-ma allegedly attacked Latha following a heated argument over the property late on Thursday night and the woman died in the melee. To showcase that it was a suicide, the mother and son hanged Latha’s body from a tree outside the village. After noticing the body, local people alerted Latha’s parents about the mishap. Sensing trouble, Surendra fled from the village.
