HYDERABAD: A 46-year-old man, Vannela Murali, accused of killing an SC woman who was his live-in partner in Vikarabad district in the year 2021, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday. The court also imposed a fine of `10,000 on him.
The offence took place in April, 2021 and a chargesheet was filed in August, 2021. The trial was completed in less than one year. Circumstantial evidence along with the accused’s confession and the deposition of the panch witnesses during the trial, supporting the confession, proved the accused’s guilt in the court.
Murali belongs to Nizamabad district and the victim Chennaram Padmamma belongs to Hajipur in Vikarabad district. Both were married but separated from their spouses. More than two decades ago, both moved to Hyderabad in search of livelihood. They were residing in Malakpet in the city. While at work, they got acquainted and entered a relationship. In 2020, when the lockdown was imposed, they lost their jobs. They then went to Padmamma’s house at Hajipur.
After the lockdown was eased, Murali started working on daily wages and after work, both would consume toddy. Slowly, Murali developed a grudge against Padmamma as she was spending all his earnings and decided to kill her. On the night of the offence, he made her consume toddy in large quantity. When she was intoxicated, he strangled her using an electric cable.
In the morning, he informed a relative of the victim saying that Padmamma was unconscious. They came home and shifted her to hospital, where she was declared dead. Murali fled, but he was arrested two months later and sent to remand. The Special Court for SC & ST cases at LB Nagar delivered the judgement on Thursday.