Three held in West Godavari Buddhist cave murder case

The stolen mobile phone of Dharani Sri, who was killed at Guntupalli Buddhist caves, has reportedly led the police to her killer.
West Godavari SP Ravi Prakash explaining during a review meeting conducted by Eluru range DIG in Eluru on Tuesday. (Express Photo)
West Godavari SP Ravi Prakash explaining during a review meeting conducted by Eluru range DIG in Eluru on Tuesday. (Express Photo)

ELURU: The stolen mobile phone of Dharani Sri, who was killed at Guntupalli Buddhist caves, has reportedly led the police to her killer. The suspect, P Raju, and two of his relatives are being questioned for their alleged involvement in the attack on the victim and her boyfriend T Naveen Kumar.

According to sources, Raju hails from Mylavaram of Krishna district and was visiting his in-laws’ house at G Kothapalli in Dwaraka Tirumala. Police investigation revealed that Raju was previously involved in attacking and robbing couples at isolated locations. However, no case was filed against him yet. He also loved to hunt birds and small animals.

On Sunday, the suspect went to the caves from his sister’s place at Kamavarapukota. The police said: “Raju may have attacked Naveen Kumar first from the back. After he fell unconscious, he sexually assaulted the girl and then smashed her head to a boulder, leading to her death.”

The cops explained Raju took away the couple’s mobile phones. Later, he damaged Naveen’s while Dharani’s phone was still with him. Using the phone’s network, Raju was traced. They added his two brother-in-laws might also be present when the murder took place.

The trio are being interrogated at an undisclosed location. Meanwhile, the police are investigating whether this is the first case involving Raju or if he was involved in similar cases. In a related development, the functioning of security staff at the caves is also under the scanner with locals leveling allegations that they are hand in glove with miscreants who target lovers who come to the caves. They alleged that some staff alert the miscreants who take photographs of the lovers, and blackmail and rob them of their valuables.

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