Prakasam district police have achieved a breakthrough in two sensational double murders and four robberies with the arrest of two habitual offenders at Tangutur in Prakasam district on Sunday.
Addressingreporters here, Prakasam Superintendent of Police Mallika Garg said that stolen valuales worth₹38.48 lakh had been recovered from the duo, identified as Siva Kottaiah (35) and Naresh (26) who had struck at six places. A police team led by Ongole Deputy Superintendent of Police U. Nagarajuarrested the duonear Tangutur X Junction.
Giving details of their crimes, police said the duo killed two women, Venkata Lekhana and her mother Sridevi, in Tangutur. “Theyrang the doorbelland when the unsuspecting women opened the door, the accused fatally attacked them,” police said.
Similarly, the accused struck at the house of a man named Venkata Subba Rao and his wife Rajyalakshmi in Chimakurthy and at four other places in the district. In all, they fled with valuables worth ₹53.48 lakh, police said. The recovered valuables included gold jewellery weighing 612 gm, and silver utensils weighing 2 kg.A car, two motorcycles, iron rods, a hammer and pepper spray, used by the accused in their crimes, were also recovered by the police.
Investigating the cases was difficult as the accused had covered their tracks well, Ms. Garg said, adding that she formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Officer on Special Duty K. Chowdeswari which eventually tracked down the accused. They had been imprisoned in the past for their involvement in seven other property offences, Ms. Garg said.
Explaining the modus operandi of the duo, who became friends while lodged in jail, the SP said they used to target women, especially elderly persons living by themselves, and made away with gold ornaments after fatally attacking them with lethal weapons. A breakthrough was achieved using technology tools and meticulous investigation methods, the SP said, and presented rewards to the OSD, DSP and other members of the SIT for cracking the cases.
