The Greater Chennai Police (GCP) on Saturday arrested five persons, including functionaries of the Jana Sena party, over their alleged involvement in the murder of a youth in Andhra Pradesh.
On June 8, the Seven Wells police, Chennai, recovered the body of an unidentified youth from the Buckingham Canal on SM Nagar. The body was taken to a hospital, and the post-mortem report showed strangulation marks, indicating that it was a case of murder. The police analysed CCTV footage from the spot and found that the body was dumped into the canal from a car with Andhra Pradesh registration.
The police intensified the probe and identified the victim as Srinivasulu (alias Rayudu), 22, of Tirupati.
Subsequently, they traced and arrested five suspects — Chandra Babu, 35; his wife Vinutha Kotta, 31, who is a functionary of the Jana Sena party in Srikalahasti, Andhra Pradesh; Sivakumar, 36, another functionary of the party; Gopi, 24, of Srikalahasti; and Sheik Dasar, 23, of Renigunta. The vehicle they used to dump the body was seized.
The investigation revealed that the victim was working at the residence of Vinutha Kotta from the age of 15. Enraged over being accused of working secretly for a political rival, Srinivasulu fixed a mobile phone in Vinutha’s bedroom. When caught, he confessed that he did it at the instance of a Telugu Desam MLA, following which he was sent away from the house.
However, Srinivasulu was later summoned by the family and their accomplice; this time, they inflicted physical torture on him, strangling him to death using an iron chain. In a bid to dispose of the body, Chandra Babu and the other suspects drove down to Chennai and dumped the body into the Buckingham Canal, the police said.
Published – July 12, 2025 11:55 pm IST