5 Held for Bid to Kill Couple

VIJAYAWADA: The city police Sunday arrested five persons who were allegedly involved in an attempt to murder a couple in Ibrahimpatnam recently.

It may be recalled here that Juluri Hanumantha Rao (70) and his second wife Ramadevi (40) were attacked by a woman and a man at their residence in Ibrahimpatnam last Tuesday.

The role of Hanumantha Rao’s two sons with his first wife was suspected in the case. Hanumantha Rao’s two sons and three others were taken into custody after investigation on Sunday. 

Vijayawada commissioner of police (CP) AB Venkateswara Rao presented the accused before the media at his office.

Hanumantha Rao’s first wife Subala Devi died in 2004. He had two sons and three daughters with her. He gave 2 acres to his sons Subba Rao and Madhava Rao. He also used to take care of his grandson (daughter’s son) K Satyanarayna alias Manikanta who used to live with him. But Hanumantha Rao married Ramadevi in 2007 and sent Manikanta away from home following which a dispute arose between them.

The CP said, after marriage, Hanumantha Rao had also bought a home in Ramadevi’s name. He asked his sons to return the land gifted to them earlier. After these developments, Subba Rao and Madhava Rao decided to kill their father and his second wife. They called Manikanta and gave him Rs 1 lakh who took the help of his friend Vinay Kumar and planned the murder attempt.

The CP further said that Vinay Kumar and his wife Veena had conducted a recce and on Tuesday they gained entry into the house of Hanumantha Rao and set the couple afire after dousing them with kerosene. The couple survived the murder attempt as they were immediately rushed to hospital.