49 accused acquitted in 2014 triple murder case
VIJAYAWADA: The Seventh Additional District Magistrate Court on Friday acquitted all the 49 accused in the Pedda Avutapalli triple murder case of 2014 due to lack of evidence.
The case dates back to September 24, 2014, when Gandham Nageswara Rao (70), Gandham Maraiah (40) and Gandham Pagidi Maraiah (30) were shot dead near Pedda Avutapalli village while they were heading to Pina Kamidi village in West Godavari district from Gannavaram airport, police said.
Investigation revealed that the prime accused in the case, Bhutham Govindu, had hired contract killers from Delhi to assassinate the Gandham family in a bid to avenge the murder of one of his family members, Bhutham Durga Rao.
The murders were a result of a feud between the two families over property disputes in the village. Earlier, the Gandham family had killed two members of the Bhutham family with the help of contract killers from Mumbai.
As many as 49 people were listed as accused in the case, including seven contract killers from Delhi.
While pronouncing the verdict, additional district judge Nageswar Rao said, “The investigating officers failed to produce evidence proving the financial transactions between the accused and shooters hired from Delhi and on other aspects such as scientific evidence pertaining to weapons used to commit the crime.”
According to sources, police are mulling over approaching the High Court to challenge the fast-track court’s judgement after taking legal opinion.