ONGOLE: The Eighth Additional Sessions Court on Monday awarded death penalty to notorious highway serial killer Md Abdul Samad alias Munna Bhai and 10 of his gang members. Five other members of the gang were awarded life term imprisonment. Munna Bhai (51) and his gang members were arrested in cases related to gruesome murders and robberies on the national highways in 2008. The accused have been lodged in prison for the past 13 years.
Nellore CID Regional Office Additional SP PR Rajendra Kumar said based on a complaint by Tamil Nadu lorry owner Veerappan Kuppuswami about the theft of his lorry with the Ongole town police, the then Circle Inspector Sankara Reddy filed a case. During the course of investigation, the police arrested Munna Bhai and his 16 gang members and cases were registered against them under dacoity, murder and other Sections of IPC. Later, the cases were transferred to the CID.
As per the modus operandi of the gang, the members would wait for iron-laden trucks passing on National Highway 5 (now NH 16). Some members would get into the truck on the pretext of travelling for some distance by offering money to the driver. The other group would stop the vehicle at another place, posing itself as police team.
After verifying the documents, they would also board the truck stating that they would get down on the way. Later, they would kill the driver and cleaner and dispose of the bodies at an isolated place. After that, they would take the truck to the garage of Munna Bhai in Ongole, where the vehicle would be dismantled and spare parts would be sold.