Police in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district have arrested three people after uncovering that a death initially believed to be a road accident was, in fact, a carefully planned murder. The incident, which occurred on January 16, was first reported as a fatal traffic mishap, but a closer forensic and circumstantial examination led investigators to a very different conclusion.
The deceased was identified as Degala Chinna. Those taken into custody include his wife, Kondamma; her alleged lover, Alakunty Ganesh; and Paleppa Shivakumar, who is related to Ganesh. Police officials said sustained questioning and reconstruction of events revealed a conspiracy that had been developing for months.
According to investigators, the sequence of events began in 2024 when Chinna and Kondamma moved to Tenali in search of daily-wage employment. While working under a local mason, Kondamma allegedly entered into an extramarital relationship with Ganesh. Over time, Chinna became aware noted the changes in his wife’s behaviour and eventually discovered the affair.
In an effort to put an end to the relationship and salvage the marriage, Chinna reportedly sent Kondamma back to their native village around nine months before the killing. The move was intended to physically separate her from Ganesh and sever all contact between them. However, police said this strategy failed. Despite the distance, the relationship allegedly continued through secret phone conversations and covert meetings arranged in nearby towns, including Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli.
The situation escalated when Kondamma sought a divorce and Chinna refused to consent. Investigators believe this refusal became the immediate trigger for the murder plot. Viewing Chinna as a barrier to their future together, Kondamma and Ganesh allegedly decided to eliminate him, enlisting the help of Ganesh’s relative, Shivakumar.
On the night of January 14, Kondamma is said to have tipped off the co-accused about Chinna’s movements. As he was travelling by motorcycle to a nearby village, Ganesh and Shivakumar allegedly intercepted him, forcibly dragged him into a nearby teak orchard, and killed him by strangulation using a rope.
To conceal the crime, the accused reportedly placed Chinna’s body beside his motorcycle on the roadside, attempting to make the death appear as the result of a traffic accident. However, investigators noticed discrepancies at the scene that did not align with a typical road crash, prompting a more thorough probe.
This deeper investigation exposed the staged nature of the scene and ultimately led to the unraveling of the conspiracy. During interrogation, all three accused reportedly confessed to their roles in planning and executing the murder, police said.
