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The Telangana police have arrested Vinod Kumar in connection with the death of 32-year-old Ankathi Manasa, whose body was found stuffed in the boot of a car in Hanamkonda’s Elkathurthi mandal. Her father, Ankathi Rajesham was also arrested.
Ankathi Manasa’s body was discovered after locals noticed a foul smell coming from a car parked near the agricultural market checkpost on August 21. The police, who were alerted by the village secretary, found the body wrapped in a blanket inside the vehicle. An Aadhaar card recovered from the car helped establish the woman’s identity.
Yadelli Vinod Kumar (34) was taken into custody on August 24 by a special police team from the outskirts of Elkathurthi. Rajesham was subsequently arrested on Monday night.
According to police, Manasa and Vinod were childhood friends and were in a romantic relationship. Vinod also knew Manasa’s family well. Preliminary investigation suggests that the two had an argument at Vinod’s room in neighbouring Karimnagar district on August 18. Police said Manasa had reportedly been insisting that he marry her.
During questioning, Vinod allegedly told police that he had informed Manasa’s father, Ankathi Rajesham, about the dispute. He further claimed that Rajesham told him that Manasa was also causing problems for the family and asked him to “do something” about the situation.
Upon further investigation, police learnt that Rajesham had asked Vinod to kill Manasa for bringing ‘dishonour to the family'. Manasa had been divorced twice before and was living with her parents.
Police also said she had epilepsy and had been facing mental health issues. She had recently stayed at Vinod’s room and was reportedly planning to travel with him to a temple in Tamil Nadu.
Further investigation is underway.