NELLORE: The flexi sticker of actor Rajinikanth on an autorickshaw has helped the Nellore sub-division police crack a murder case.
The sticker assisted the cops in nabbing the autorickshaw driver for the murder of a 45-year-old woman. The accused was identified as Ramaswamy alias Vemasani Srikanth alias Rajinikanth, 22.
The deceased, Bondili Nirmala Bhai (45) was residing in Ramalingapuram of Nellore and working as a clerk in a private school nearby.
After the death of her husband Ramesh Singh three years ago and with her son working in Bengaluru and daughter studying in Tirupati, she was residing alone in a rented house in the city.
"She was killed after being stabbed in the neck more than 10 times with a button knife. After this, her body had been set on fire. Local residents saw flames coming out from her house and tried to douse it. They informed the Balaji Nagar police, who later began an investigation after forming three teams,' Superintendent of Police, Nellore, Aishwarya Rastogi said.
CCTV camera footage from near the house of Nirmala Bhai showed an autorickshaw that had actor Rajinikanth's sticker on it arriving before the murder and leaving after it. This led to the cops running checks on 10000 autorickshaws in the city and also in rural area limits.
On June 3, they finally found the autorickshaw they were looking for at the Apollo hospital junction at Muthukur road in Nellore city. The auto driver, Ramaswamy, on interrogation admitted that he had carried out the murder to steal valuables from the victim.
He said he had picked up a gold chain, bangles, earrings and Rs 2000 from her wallet.
Ramaswamy said he had collected old newspapers from the house and used that to burn Nirmala Bhai's body to divert attention. He had also left the gas valve open to make it seem like an accidental death.
SP Aishwarya Rastogi rewarded Nellore city DSP NBM Murali Krishna, the Balaji Nagar Circle Inspector and Sub-Inspectors for their efforts in cracking the case.