Woman held for killing co-worker, staging it as rape and murder

A 35-year-old woman from Yellammabanda was arrested by the Kukatpally police on Sunday for allegedly killing her co-worker at KPHB nearly a week ago. The accused, Katari Manjula, tried to make the killing appear like a case of rape and murder, according to the police.

The KPHB police found the body of the victim, 23-year-old Dharmaram Priyanka, at a secluded area near Kukatpally on October 2. “The victim, a native of Bodan in Nizamabad, had moved to Hyderabad two months ago to find work and had been residing in the KPHB area,” according to police sources.

An investigation showed that Priyanka knew Manjula and had entrusted the latter with valuable silver ornaments for safekeeping. When, however, Priyanka requested Manjula to return her belongings, Manjula refused, leading to a heated argument, according the police.

Manjula then devised a plan to kill Priyanka and lured her home under the pretence of resolving the dispute. “After consuming alcohol together, Manjula drove Priyanka to a secluded spot and killed her. She mutilated Priyanka’s body hoping that the investigators would believe that the victim had been subjected to a sexual assault, the police said.

Acting on the findings of the investigation, the police arrested Manjula from her residence, and she confessed to the crime. The police seized several pieces of evidence, including the victim’s ornaments, the murder weapon and the scooter used.

Published - October 06, 2024 09:04 pm IST