Three more people were arrested in the murder case of Florida-based NRI businessman Chigurupati Jayaram with the Hyderabad police saying that they took two rowdy sheeters and a third person, who used to work for main accused Rakesh Reddy, into custody. The accused have been identified as Vishal, Nagesh and Subhash Reddy.
Speaking to reports, Deputy Commissioner of Police A R Srinivas said that Vishal and Nagesh were rowdy-sheeters living under the jurisdiction of the S R Nagar Police Station and were involved in killing Jayaram in his flat. The police said that Rakesh Reddy hired Vishal and the two of them throttled Jayaram before smothering him with a pillow. Nagesh on the other hand, reportedly recorded videos of Jayaram when he was being illegally confined in Hyderabad, in a bid to extort money from his family.
The DCP told the media that they had recovered the videos shot on the accused's mobile phones. Subhash on the other hand, had bought a SIM card under his name and gave it to Rakesh. He was also in possession of the videos after Rakesh sent them to him, but did not reveal this to investigation officials. Responding to a question, the DCP also said that Jayaram's niece, Shikha Chowdary, would also be questioned again if needed.
The body of 55-year-old Jayaram, who was director of Coastal Bank was found on the back seat of his car off the national highway near Nandiagama close to Vijayawada on January 31. Jayaram, also a Managing Director of Express TV, a now defunct Telugu channel, had come to Hyderabad from the US a few days before his death.
The Andhra Pradesh Police said Jayaram was killed over a monetary dispute. It said Reddy murdered Jayaram as the latter had failed to repay a Rs 4 crore loan. Reddy called him to a house in Jubilee Hills and killed him. He later shifted the body to Jayaram's car and took it to Krishna district and left it in a field adjoining the national highway to make it appear like an accident.
Before shifting the body, Rakesh Reddy spoke to two police officials of Hyderabad over phone. Assistant Commissioner of Police Malla Reddy and Circle Inspector Srinivasulu were transferred after their names cropped up during the investigations.
Jayaram's wife has also demanded a probe against his niece Shikha Chowdary, who was allegedly into a relationship with Rakesh Reddy. She said that after the murder, Shikha barged into their house in Jubilee Hills. She alleged that some key documents and valuables were missing.
IANS inputs