Four arrested for murder of YouTuber Boggula Srinivas

Khammam: Fourpersons have been arrested for the alleged murder of YouTuber and author Boggula Srinivas, whose body was found inside a car in the Palair Reservoir earlier this month, police said.

Addressing the media on Sunday, Khammam Rural ACP, Tirupathi Reddy, said financial disputes between Srinivas and his friend Mekala Venu Madhava Reddy allegedly led to the killing.

According to police, Srinivas and Madhava Reddy were involved in a GST fraud amounting to about Rs 90 lakh using the GST licence of ‘BOGGULA BBQ’, owned by the deceased. The proceeds were to be shared equally, but Madhava Reddy allegedly paid only Rs 15 lakh, promising to pay the remaining Rs 30 lakh later.

In the meantime, Srinivas’ GST licence was cancelled and notices were issued to both by the GST department. Srinivas later reportedly demanded payment of the pending Rs 30 lakh and sought settlement of a penalty of about Rs 1 crore to reactivate the licence, which intensified the dispute.

Police said Madhava Reddy allegedly conspired to eliminate Srinivas with the help of three others — Pokala Koteswara Rao, Shaik Abdul Hafeez, and Mohammed Azmathali Khan. An amount of Rs 5 lakh was allegedly paid as ‘supari’ to execute the crime.

As per the investigation, Srinivas was taken in a car on the night of February 13 on the pretext of settling his dues in Vijayawada. In the early hours of the next day, he was allegedly killed at an isolated place between Nakrekal and Jangaon using knives and iron rods.

To make the death appear accidental, the accused allegedly pushed the car, with the body inside, into the Palair reservoir, police said.

A case has been registered at Kusumanchi police station under Sections 103 (punishment for murder), 61 (criminal conspiracy) and 238 (tampering with evidence) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The accused have confessed to the crime during interrogation, the ACP added.

Srinivas had shot into prominence in 2014 after publishing a controversial book titled ‘Pawan Kalyan Hatao – Politics Bachavo,’ which created a sensation in the Telugu states and reportedly led to threats against him at the time.

He hailed from Alluru village in Nandikotkur mandal of Nandyal district in Andhra Pradesh and was residing in Hyderabad.