Police arrest accused in sensational rape and murder case, in 48 hours

Bapatla: The Bapatla SP Vakul Jindal announced that they arrested the accused in the sensational case of rape and murder reported on Friday morning, in less than 48 hours. He said that they would build the case tightly with the evidence and technical analysis and make sure the accused received capital punishment.

Speaking in a press meet at the I Town Police Station in Chirala on Saturday night, Bapatla SP explained that they received information about the death of a 21-year-old woman near the railway track at Eepurupalem on Friday morning. He said that the complainant informed them that the woman went to empty her bowel near the railway track in Eepurupalem in the early hours on Friday at 05:45 AM, but didn’t return home for a while. Her father went in search of her and found the dead body of the woman without clothes and with blood stains on her face and her genitalia. Receiving the complaint, the police reached the spot, booked the case as rape and murder, and collected the evidence and clothes of the woman, and started an investigation.

The SP said that Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu responded to the incident immediately and ordered a thorough investigation, and Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha visited the crime scene. He said that Anitha consoled the victim's family members, and assured them of justice for the woman. Based on the orders of the home minister and instructions of the DGP, the police department formed 10 teams with CI, SIs, and constables as members investigated the case, collected evidence against three men belonging to the Eepurupalem village, and arrested them.

The SP said that under the supervision of additional SP TP Vithaleswar Rao, Chirala DSP Bethapudi Prasad, and Bapatla DSP Ch Muralikrishna, the team under Chirala Rural CI Nimmagadda Satyanarayana analyzed the evidence and statements of the witnesses, found that Devarakonda Vijay, Karanki Mahesh and Devarakonda Srikanth of the Eepurupalem village are involved in the crime. The police team arrested the accused on the evening of Saturday.

The SP said that in the accused, two cases are pending on Vijay, one case on Mahesh, and three cases on Srikanth in the Chirala Rural Police Station, already. He said that two of the accused dragged the woman into the bushes beside the railway track, raped, attacked her on the face, and killed her by closing her mouth and nose. The third person provided shelter to the two persons involved in the crime said the SP.

Vakul Jindal announced that they would complete the investigation fast, collect all evidence, receive expert reports, and make a tight case to see the culprits get maximum punishment. He warned that the police would not allow anyone committing atrocities on women to roam freely, and they would face the legal course of action. He appreciated the members of the ten teams for their efforts in gathering the evidence, analyzing the statements, collecting technical evidence and analyzing them immediately, and working to arrest the accused in less than 48 hours of receiving the complaint.