Vijayawada: Seventh Additional District Sessions Judge Bandela Abraham has sentenced two persons, previously implicated in a series of ten cyanide murders, to life imprisonment and a fine in connection with a murder case reported under Ajit Singh Nagar Police Station limits. The conviction stems from the suspicious death of Katti Nagaraju in Eluru in 2019, initially registered as a case. The subsequent investigation, led by the then Eluru DSP Dileep Kiran, Eluru Rural CI Anusuri Srinivas Rao, and their team, led to the apprehension of two suspects. During interrogation, it was revealed that Nagaraju’s death was not suspicious but a deliberate murder using cyanide. Further investigation uncovered that the accused were responsible for an additional nine murders. The culprits, Vellanki Simhadri of Eluru and Shaik Aminullah Babu of Vijayawada, were subsequently arrested.

Among the victims was Gandikota Bhaskar Rao, a resident of Ajit Singh Nagar here, originally from Vadlamanu village, Agiripalli mandal, Krishna district. His wife, Gandikota Padmavathi, filed a complaint after learning that her husband was also poisoned with cyanide by the same accused. Based on her complaint, the then Ajit Singh Nagar CI SVV Lakshminarayana registered a case. The accused were then presented in court on PT warrants.

During investigation, it was discovered that the victim, a real estate businessman, had extensive dealings with Vellanki Simhadri, also known as Shiva, from Eluru, and Shaik Aminullah Babu, also known as Babu or Shankar, from Vijayawada, whom he had met through his business. In a premeditated act, the accused mixed cyanide into Prasad (a religious offering) and administered it to the victim without his knowledge, leading to his death. Judge Bandela Abraham found Vellanki Simhadri and Shaik Aminullah Babu guilty. Consequently, he sentenced them to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 each.

The prosecution was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Y James.

The case investigation involved the efforts of CMS Inspector Jagadeeswar Rao, current Ajit Singh Nagar Inspector BH Venkateswara Rao, CMS ASI M Kotireddy, and their team, who examined 11 witnesses under their supervision.