Private Detective Among Four Held for Murder of Photo Studio Owner in Nalgonda
Superintendent of police Sharat Chandra Pawar, presenting the case details at a press conference, said four people were arrested: Gaddapati Uma Maheshwari (37)
Nalgonda: Nalgonda Town-I police on Wednesday cracked the murder case of photo studio owner Gaddapati Suresh, who was brutally killed on April 11 at Ramgiri in Nalgonda town. The crime, meticulously planned to mislead investigators, involved the services of a private detective.
Superintendent of police Sharat Chandra Pawar, presenting the case details at a press conference, said four people were arrested: Gaddapati Uma Maheshwari (37), the divorced wife of Suresh’s brother Naresh; her father Mathari Venkataiah (66), a retired excise department circle inspector; Chikku Kiran Kumar (44), a former Navy employee and private detective with Scout Detective Agency in Hyderabad; and Musham Jagadish (39), a resident of Edulur village in Kattangur mandal.
According to police, Uma Maheshwari and Naresh were married in 2017 but filed for divorce two years ago due to marital disputes. Believing that Suresh played a role in supporting Naresh during the separation, Venkataiah, Uma’s father, hired Kiran to gather information and act against Suresh.
Kiran kept Naresh under surveillance for six months and reported that Naresh was living with another woman and had a child. Convinced that Suresh had encouraged Naresh, Venkataiah allegedly paid Kiran a ₹15 lakh supari to eliminate Suresh.
After conducting multiple recces at Suresh’s studio, Kiran, with help from Jagadish and an insider at the studio, carried out the murder. Suresh was stabbed to death on April 11. In an attempt to destroy evidence, the assailants also took away the studio’s internet router, mistaking it for a CCTV hard disk.
Police said a studio employee played a key role by informing the attackers about Suresh’s movements. Based on credible leads, Uma Maheshwari and Venkataiah were arrested in Hyderabad, while Kiran and Jagadish were apprehended in Narketpally.
All studio employees were taken into custody and interrogated, which provided crucial leads in solving the case. Investigations are ongoing.
