Police crack Arilova murder-for-gain, 34-year-old man arrested

The Visakhapatnam police on Monday cracked the sensational murder-for-gain case of Kapu Lakshmi (45), a resident of Durga Nagar under Arilova, whose body was found at her residence on February 11.

The accused, identified as T. Siva Gangaraju alias Tattoo Siva (34), a native of Bobbili in Vizianagaram district, has been arrested.

Addressing a press conference at the city police conference hall on Monday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crimes) Latha Madhuri said that the accused Siva knew the victim. He had come in contact with her through social media several years ago and committed the crime due to huge debts.

The DCP said that Siva had allegedly lost nearly ₹1 crore in online gaming and had borrowed an additional ₹25 lakh from various individuals. Burdened by mounting debts, he allegedly hatched a plan to rob Lakshmi, whom he knew was financially strong.

“On February 11, the accused reportedly travelled to Arilova and gained entry into Lakshmi’s house. He allegedly demanded her to hand over her gold ornaments. When she refused, Siva allegedly strangulated her to death and fled with the gold ornaments weighing about 14.5 tolas, along with ₹5 lakh in cash,” the DCP said.

Following a complaint, special police teams were formed, and investigation were carried out using technical analysis and surveillance methods. To evade arrest, Shiva allegedly fled to North India, where he kept moving to different places including Dhanbad, New Delhi, and Varanasi. He was apprehended while he was reportedly planning to travel to Chennai.

Police sources said that after the murder, Siva released a selfie video, urging his lenders not to harass his family and claiming sole responsibility for his debts. The video helped the police in the investigation.

Lakshmi’s husband works as an outsourcing employee with the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. The police have recovered the entire stolen property.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Annepu Narasimha Murthy, Circle Inspector, Arilova police station, Chakradhar Rao, were present.