Puttaparthi: The Sri Sathya Sai district police have cracked the murder case of a Karnataka resident and arrested three accused, District Superintendent of Police S Satish Kumar said on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference, the SP stated that the murder was driven by long-standing land disputes and personal vengeance arising out of humiliation.

The case pertains to the brutal killing of C Muthappa (44), a native of Devaravanka village in Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka. The murder was reported at the Amadagur Police Station on September 4, 2025 based on a complaint filed by the victim’s wife, M Prameela.

According to police, Muthappa had stayed overnight at his tomato field on September 3 for agricultural work and failed to return home. The following morning, his body was found near a stream bund with severe head injuries and a stab wound to the neck.

SP Satish Kumar said special police teams were formed to trace the culprits. Acting on intelligence, police arrested the three accused early on December 14 near Mohammadabad in O.D. Cheruvu mandal. The arrested were identified as K Suresha (54), R Somashekara (36), and A Ananda (42), all residents of Chikkaballapur district.

During interrogation, the accused confessed that A1 had land disputes with the deceased, while A2 bore a grudge after being publicly humiliated by the victim in the past. Along with A3, they allegedly plotted the murder for six months and attacked Muthappa with iron rods on the night of September 3, leading to his death.

The SP asserted that criminals would not be spared wherever they hide and urged the public to install CCTV cameras at homes and commercial establishments to aid crime detection. The police team led by Puttaparthi DSP Vijay Kumar and Nallamada Circle Inspector Y. Narender Reddy was commended for solving the case.