VIJAYAWADA: In a shocking incident, a woman in Yendagandi village of West Godavari district received a parcel containing the body of an unidentified 45-year-old person on Thursday night. The parcel also contained a letter demanding the woman Naga Thulasi to arrange Rs 1.3 crore.
Shocked by the body in the parcel, the woman informed the police who rushed to the spot and collected clues from the scene. Later, they sent the body to the Bhimavaram government hospital for postmortem.
Speaking to TNIE, West Godavari superintendent of police (SP) Adnan Nayeem Asmi said the parcel came from Kshatriya Seva Samithi, who sent appliances based on the woman's request for house construction.
Thulasi, who is around 45-years-old, had applied for financial aid with Kshatriya Seva Samithi earlier and also received two consignments containing tiles and paints some months ago. When she had applied for further help in construction, the Samithi representatives had reportedly promised to provide electricity appliances.
Following her petition, the Samithi representatives sent a message on WhatsApp promising that she would be provided items like lights, fans, and switches. Subsequently, a person delivered a box to the woman at her doorstep on Thursday night and left after informing her that it contained electrical appliances.
"After opening the parcel, she noticed the body of a person and alerted police. The letter in the parcel demanded the woman pay Rs 1.30 crore and warned the family of serious consequences if she failed to meet the demand. We questioned the family members about the disputes with their relatives if any and other rivalries with other persons," said the SP Asmi.
The SP also said special teams were formed to track the vehicle used for delivering the parcel and also identifying the person who delivered the parcel.
"We also summoned and questioned representatives of the Kshatriya Seva Samithi pertaining to the incident. The deceased was aged about 45 years and may have died five days ago. All the police stations were alerted to verify the details of the deceased with those of the missing cases reported in the surrounding police stations in the district."
"Family members of the Thulasi are not cooperating with the police and the incident seems to have been a conspiracy behind. The case will be solved soon and the details of the deceased are yet to be ascertained" he added.
Missing husbands
Incidentally, Tulasi's husband went missing more than 10 years ago and never returned home, prompting her to live with her parents.
SP Asmi said Tulasi lived with her parents until her younger sister arrived and later she moved to a rented accommodation.
Tulasi had started constructing a house about one km away from her parents' home and started receiving help from a philanthropist, who had sent her high quality tiles and paints in September.
According to the police, the unidentified philanthropist told Tulasi that as they both belonged to the same caste and she was a 'widow', he was helping her.
A property dispute angle was also being suspected.
"We are checking up on all the missing people in the last three to four days. After post mortem (of the body) we will get more clarity," said the SP.
Meanwhile, Asmi noted that the younger son-in-law of the family has been missing since yesterday.
(With inputs from PTI)