ELURU: A day after the brutal murder of 20-year-old Sri Dharani at Guntupalli Buddhist caves in Kamavarapu Kota mandal, police on Monday said they suspected the role of three men in it. The investigators were trying to ascertain if the girl was raped before she was killed. Dharani’s boyfriend T Naveen Kumar, who was found with severe injuries beside her body, was also questioned as he gave contradictory versions of the attack in his statement.
A police team led by ASP Eshwar visited the scene of offence on the day and, with the help of sniffer dogs, they collected hair of the deceased, Naveen and two unidentified persons. Seven spe cial teams were formed to speed up the investigation process.
According to officials involved in the probe, three persons came to the caves around 3.30 pm on Sunday. It was only after the police left the crime scene after completing preliminary investigation that they left around 7.30 pm. “It is suspected that the trio hid themselves in the vicinity for the entire duration that the police were there,” a police official said.
Meanwhile, three youths from G Kotthapalli village in Dwaraka Tirumala mandal were taken into custody for questioning, it is learnt. Police investigation also revealed that Dharani (a resident of Pulla village in MM Puram), who attended NCC camp every Sunday, left home on Sunday at 9 am and reached Bhimadole two hours later. Naveen then picked her up and the duo went to Guntupalli caves.
The police suspected that Naveen might have sketched the plan to get rid of her. “He may have brought two of his friends who bludgeoned the girl and tore her clothes to mislead the police that she was raped and killed by some assailants.”Dharani’s body was handed over to her parents after post- mortem. However, the doctors refused to reveal any information. Also, Naveen is undergoing treatment at the government hospital. Meanwhile, Naveen’s family staged a dharna in Eluru and said that the girl was killed as she fell in love with a man of a backward caste.