Vijayawada: The Gannavaram police on Friday arrested two individuals in connection with a murder for gain case involving the killing of a 55-year-old woman at her residence in Davajigudem, Gannavaram, on the night of May 24. The arrested were identified as Polavarapu Sushma (45) and her son Polavarapu Ajay Kumar (25), residents of Srinagar Colony in Gannavaram. Police recovered approximately 390 grams of gold, Rs 1.6 lakh in cash, and a Suzuki Access scooter allegedly used in the crime. The total value of recovered items is Rs 56 lakh, police said.
Details of the Case
Disclosing the case details to the media on Friday, Krishna district superintendent of police (SP) V Vidyasagar Naidu stated that the prime accused, Sushma, was allegedly facing financial difficulties and believed that the victim was an obstacle to her extramarital relationship. Driven by greed for the victim’s gold and cash, she allegedly conspired to commit the murder with the assistance of her son.
“Based on CCTV footage analysis, the two accused entered the victim Kaja Rajitha Kumari’s flat at GKR Paradise around 10:07 pm and left at about 11:17 pm on the night of the incident. They killed the victim and fled with gold and cash,” the SP said.
Victim's Last Moments
The victim, Rajitha Kumari, had been residing alone in her flat. On the night of May 24, she was speaking with one of her daughters over the phone when she mentioned that someone had rung the doorbell. After disconnecting the call, she failed to respond to further calls. The following morning, her domestic helper found her dead under suspicious circumstances in her bedroom and alerted the police through the emergency helpline.
Investigation and Arrest
Police initially registered a suspicious death case and launched an investigation. Based on evidence, they later altered the case to murder for gain and formed special teams to trace the suspects. Acting on credible information, police apprehended the accused near Konayya Cheruvu in Gannavaram.
Police also revealed that Ajay Kumar has a criminal background, with several cases registered against him and a suspect sheet maintained at Vuyyurur Town police station. On the occasion, the SP commended the special investigation team led by In-charge DSP Pal Srinivas and Gannavaram Circle Inspector L Ramesh for swiftly solving the case.
