The Chittoor police on Monday arrested four people in the double murder case of Chittoor mayor Katari Anuradha and her husband Katari Mohan on November 17.
The twist to the tale however, was that the arrested were also red sanders smugglers. A pistol, an SUV, 10 red sanders logs and Rs 9,000 in cash were seized from them.
This comes a week after Chandrasekhar alias Chintu, the chief accused in the murder made an unexpected appearance and surrendered himself before a Chittoor court.
A report in the Deccan Chronicle adds:
The accused identified as Rajanikanth, Narendrababu alias Pakodi of Chittoor, Srinivas Achari of Chintamani and Kamalakar of Bengaluru. While Rajanikanth serviced the gun of Chintu in the past and gave guns and bullets for the murder, Narendra Babu acted as the middle man. Srinivasa Achari gave 16 rounds of ammunition to Chintu at the instance of Narendra. Kamalakar had given shelter to Chintu after taking him in his vehicle.
Addressing the media on Monday, Chittoor SP G Srinivas said the four arrested had been involved in interstate smuggling for a few years now and their names had cropped up during the investigation.
The incident occurred at the Chittoor Muncipal Corporation office last month after burqa clad men stabbed and shot at the couple, leaving the mayor and her husband dead.
A motorcycle, clothes with blood stains and some live bullets were seized during the investigation.
Addressing the media, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had said “We will not leave the culprits however influential they are. Some of the attackers are still at large. The police will catch them soon."
Investigators later said that a power struggle was going on between the couple and Chintu who wanted his share of the spoils after Anuradha became mayor. He wanted Katari Mohan to project him as a TDP leader and insisted that people coming to meet the mayor be sent to meet him too. There were lots of bruised egos and financial disputes between them.
According to a report in The Hindu, after allegedly committing the murder on November 17, Chintu had fled Chittoor immediately in a car (supplied by an accomplice) and reached Bengaluru taking a circuitous route touching Kattamanchi, GD Nellore, Tiruttani, Vellore, Krishnagiri, and Bengaluru. After taking shelter in Punganur for over a week, Chintu surrendered at Chittoor court.
The police also added that the investigation was almost complete.