GUNTUR: The Fifth Additional District Judge’s Court in Guntur on Tuesday sentenced three men to life imprisonment for the 2022 gang-rape and murder of a 46-year-old tribal woman in Palnadu district.
The convicts — Sheelam Anji (22), Saviti China Anji (22), and Sheelam Byswami (31) — were found guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 376D, 376A, 302, and 201. The court also imposed a fine of `70,000 on each.
The crime occurred on September 16, 2022, when Ramavath Neelavathi, an ASHA worker from Anupu Chenchu Colony in Macherla mandal, went missing. Her husband, Lasakar Naik, lodged a complaint after villagers said she was last seen with the accused.
The trio had lured her on the pretext of retrieving her lost mobile phone and took her to a forest near Bellankonda Vari Palem.
There, they gang-raped her and murdered her by bludgeoning her head.
The case was initially investigated by Nagarjunasagar SI P Anil Kumar Reddy and later by DSP U Ravichandra, under the supervision of SP Kanchi Sreenivasa Rao. Special court monitoring by DSP M Venkataramana and Court HC T Manikyalarao helped expedite the trial.
Additional Public Prosecutor Pallapu Krishna’s strong presentation secured the conviction.