Serial killer arrested in Vizag, police say he went on a rampage after divorce

The 49-year-old man was nabbed by the police in with a blood-stained weapon near a murder spot where he had beaten a woman to death on August 15.
Vizag Police Commissioner press meet on nabbing man accused of three murders
Vizag Police Commissioner press meet on nabbing man accused of three murders
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A man who allegedly murdered three persons in Vizag over the past ten days has been arrested, police announced on Tuesday, August 16. Vizag Commissioner of Police Ch Srikanth told the media that 49-year-old Chandaka Rambabu is accused in the murders of three persons in two separate incidents on August 6 and 14, under the Pendurthi police station limits. The victims – an elderly couple and a middle-aged woman – had all been working as guards keeping watch at under construction buildings. Police said that Rambabu, who is from Kotauratla mandal in Ankapalli district, had become resentful of women after separating from his wife after she had an extramarital affair. He also held a grudge towards real estate companies after being cheated by a builder while working as a real estate agent earlier, the Commissioner reportedly said. 

The first offence Rambabu has been accused of is the assault of Thota Nallamma (50), and her son Vallayya (19), who were sleeping outside an under-construction building in Brundavan Gardens, Pendurthi, on the night of July 9. The mother and son both survived the assault. According to the Commissioner, Rambabu said he targeted people keeping watch at under construction buildings as they would have low security without a proper locked house, he felt he could easily enter through the makeshift barriers and kill people in their sleep. 

Later on August 6, Rambabu is alleged to have killed Suthari Apparao (72) and his wife Suthari Lakshmi (62), who were working in another under construction building in Chinamushidiwada. The Commissioner said Rambabu used a heavy iron rod weighing around 1 kg to hit the victims, which he got from a scrap shop. “He made two holes in the rod, tied a rope through it and slung it over his shoulder. He wore two shirts, one under the rod and one over it, to hide it,” the Commissioner said. 

Rambabu is also accused of killing Appikonda Lakshmi (46) on August 14 in Sujatha Nagar, where the victim was working in yet another under construction building. According to The Hindu, the Commissioner said they apprehended Rambabu near the scene of Lakshmi’s murder on August 15, where he was found hiding in bushes and in possession of a blood-stained rod suspected to be the murder weapon. Since the previous murders on August 6, police said they searched through footage from 26 CCTV cameras for approximately a week. However, Rambabu was apprehended only after Lakshmi’s murder on August 14. 

The Commissioner said that Rambabu has been working as a real estate agent in Hyderabad. In 2018, he claimed that he discovered his wife was having an affair with another man. The couple has since been divorced, the Commissioner said, adding that since then, Rambabu developed anger towards women. “He was later cheated by a builder while working as a real estate agent. Because of these two incidents, he targeted guards at under construction buildings. He said he decided to kill women in particular,” the Commissioner said. 

According to the police, the accused has a 27-year-old son and a 26-year-old daughter who have broken ties with him. “He had been living in a rented house in Vizag, but the owners threw out some of this things and locked him out as he had been roaming naked, screaming at times, and performing occult rituals at the house,” the Commissioner said, after which he had been sleeping and eating at temples or function halls. 

“We asked him if he has any pattern, based on lunar cycles, if he planned the murders. He said he would do it whenever he felt like it. He said something happened to him when he would go there, and he would attack them. He repeatedly said he wanted to kill women,” the Commissioner said. The police have ruled out the possibility that the murders were for gain or due to personal rivalry. “The post mortem has ruled out sexual assault. He said he had pulled up the women’s clothes to confirm if they were female,” the Commissioner said. Rambabu has been charged with three murders and one incident of assault. 

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