Murder-robbery cracked within three hours, two held in Telangana’s Nirmal while fleeing in SUV

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DCP Bhongir Akshansh Yadav during the press conference of the case on Monday (November 2). | Photo Credit: By Arrangement

Two men were arrested within three hours of a murder and robbery in Choutuppal after police traced a Tata Safari stolen from the victim’s house and alerted police units along NH-44, leading to their interception at Ganjal Toll Plaza in Nirmal district, Telangana.

The accused were identified as 21-year-old Pawan Kumar, of Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, and 24-year-old Harsh Santhosh Pandey, a native of Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh who was residing in Satna, Madhya Pradesh.

The police recovered gold and silver ornaments, ₹9,03,300 in cash, mobile phones, a knife and the stolen Tata Safari, with the total value of the recovered property estimated at ₹1,73,63,300.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Bhongir, Akshansh Yadav, said the victim, Rallabandi Sudhakar Swamy, earned his livelihood by performing religious rituals and poojas, during which devotees offered him cash and gold ornaments. His nephew, 29-year-old Gurram Suresh, said Swamy had brought him up and looked after him.

“On October 31, Suresh and his wife visited Swamy’s house and spoke to him until about 9.30 p.m. At around 11 p.m., Suresh called his uncle and asked whether he had gone to sleep. Swamy told him that Pawan and his friend Harsh had arrived and that he would go to sleep after speaking with them,” the officer said.

At about 12.38 a.m. on November 1, Suresh received two WhatsApp voice messages from his uncle’s mobile phone. When he checked the CCTV cameras at the house, he found that they were not functioning. He then went to the house and found the main gate and the mesh door on the upper floor open. The Tata Safari parked outside was missing.

Suresh called 112 at about 1.36 a.m. Choutuppal police reached the house and found household articles scattered inside. Swamy was found dead on a bed in a first-floor bedroom, with his hands and legs tied with sarees. He had sustained stab injuries near his right elbow and on his back. The voice notes, of about five seconds each, warned Suresh to not report the murder, said the DCP.

The police then began analysing the vehicle’s registration number and technical evidence and traced the Tata Safari travelling towards the Nagpur Highway. Toll plazas along NH-44 were alerted and details of the vehicle were shared with police units along the route.

The alert led to Nirmal district police intercepting the vehicle at Ganjal Toll Plaza at about 4.05 a.m. Both accused were apprehended and the stolen property and vehicle were recovered.

The police recovered gold articles weighing a reported 1 kg 319.33 grams and estimated to be worth ₹1.30 crore. Silver articles weighing a reported 3 kg 600.66 grams and estimated to be worth ₹3.60 lakh were also recovered.

The stolen Tata Safari was valued at about ₹30 lakh. The police said the accused had no previous criminal history as per available information.

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