ELURU: The One Town police foiled a conspiracy to murder a painter by arresting nine persons here on Sunday. Disclosing this to newsmen here, DSP Gogula Venkateswara Rao said Mulpuri Venkateswara Rao, a milk vendor of Jagannadhapuram in Pedavegi mandal, developed an illicit relationship with the wife of a painter. Having learnt about the illicit relationship, the painter threatened to kill Venkateswara Rao if he continued the affair.
With an intention to kill the painter to continue the illicit relationship with his wife, Venkateswara Rao conspired with Valluripalli Sitaramprasad alias Nani of Kudaravalli and Devineni Naga Phani Kumar of Seetharamapuram in Krishna district.
The trio hatched a conspiracy to eliminate the painter. When they failed in their attempt to knock the painter down with a lorry, Venkateswara Rao struck a deal with rowdy-sheeters Vanguri Satyanandam alias Bujji of Gudivada, Konduri Durga Rao, Nadakuditi Siva Nagaraju, Chilukuri Vijayakumar, Katti Babu Rao and Nayak Pratap and gave them `1.8 lakh. The gang lay in wait in a Maruti van and on a Pulsar motorcycle for the painter at a shop on Sunday evening to kill him.
Having learnt about their murder conspiracy, a police team, led by Circle Inspector N Rajasekhar and Sub-Inspector A Pydibabu, reached the spot in NR Peta and nabbed all the nine accused. When questioned, the accused revealed their conspiracy to eliminate the painter. Four iron rods, a knife and a syringe filled with poison were seized from them. A case was registered against them. Out of the nine accused, Satyanandam was involved in two robbery cases. The criminal background of other accused is yet to be ascertained, the DSP said.