VISAKHAPATNAM: The probe into the mysterious murder of a city-based rowdy sheeter Gedela Raju has revealed the shocking involvement of an ACP rank officer and the editor and MD of a Telugu daily, the city police said on Saturday. Former ACP (Madhurwada) D Ravi Babu, now working as a DSP in the vigilance wing of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), was named the prime accused in the murder of Gedela Raju whose completely charred body was found at Sabbavaram on October 6.
Ravi Babu plotted the murder of Raju allegedly to escape from another murder of a woman with whom he had an extra-marital affair. And at the instance of him, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Raju, editor and MD of Telugu daily ‘Kshetriya Bheri’, hired a nine-member gang of criminals to kill Raju, Gajuwaka police said here on Saturday. The police arrested nine of the 12 accused in the case including Gummadi Ravi (55), Suvvada Mahesh (32), Y Srinivasa Rao (30), A Gopi (30), M Vijay Kumar alias Billa (25), B Murali (25), Anand Kumar Kannam (49), P Thrinadh (25), B Kanakaraju (39), all residents of the city.
Among them, Srinivasa Rao, Gopi, Kanakaraju are auto-rickshaw drivers while Suvvada Mahesh was wanted in eight crimes including three murders and M Vijay Kumar was involved in eight robbery cases. The main accused DSP Ravi Babu, Srinivasa Raju and his driver Kesava are still on the run. Police started the investigation after confirming the identity of the charred body of Gedela Raju, suspecting that gang rivalry could have been led to the murder of the rowdy-sheeter who was involved in several offences in the past. Police cracked the first clue when they nabbed a drunk motorist driving the vehicle of Gedela Raju.
Padmalatha’s murder still a mystery
Visakhapatnam: Even as the police have cracked the murder case of rowdy-sheeter Gedela Raju, the death of Padmalatha with whom the prime accused, DSP D Ravi Babu, allegedly had an affair, is still shrouded in mystery.The accused nabbed in the Gedela Raju murder case have said that the DSP had murdered Padmalatha taking the help of Raju.