VISAKHAPATNAM : Cracking the 60-year-old woman’s murder for gain case, Pendurthy police on Monday arrested a sepoy of Indian Army on charge of killing Mahanti Ramalakshmi at her house on June 13. The cops have also recovered `30,000 in cash and 15 tola gold from the accused which he had stolen from the house after committing the murder.
The accused, identified as Lenka Mohana Rao (26), a native of Nellimarla in Vizianagaram district, is a Nayak in Military Engineering Group of the Army and lives in Akkayyapalem at present. He came home on a vacation in August last year, but have not joined his duty since then.
“Mohana is addicted to vices and has affairs with many women. He had taken several loans from people, but could not repay them. One Joggunaidu from Nellimarla, brother-in-law of the deceased, is a friend of Mohana Rao. He and Joggunaidu went to Rakmalakshmi’s house two months ago, when she suffered a leg fracture. He realised that the woman was staying alone and had some property,” DCP (Crimes) T Ravi Kumar Murthy said on Monday, while producing the accused before the media.
The DCP said that Mohana Rao went to the area again to do a recce on the pretext of searching a rented house. Last month, Mohana Rao married a girl from Akkayyapalem. Prior to that, he had promised to marry another girl from whom he had borrowed `40,000. Caught between debt trap and multiple illicit affairs, Mohana Rao decided to steal valuables from Ramalakshmi’s house.
“Rao had planned to throw chilli powder on Ramalakshmi. However, she recognised him. Rao got desperate and tried to spray chilli powder on her. When she resisted, Rao smothered her to death before he fled with the valuables,” the DCP said.