A month after the infamous Koodathayi serial killings in Kerala in which a woman, Jolly, allegedly killed six members of her family with cyanide-laced food over a period of 16 years, a similar case has been reported from Andhra Pradesh.
The Andhra Pradesh Police, on Tuesday, arrested Vellanki Simhadri alias Shiva, who allegedly murdered 10 people in a period of 20 months by giving them cyanide-laced 'prasadam' (temple offering). According to police, Shiva's victims were from Krishna, East Godavari and West Godavari districts.
Shiva murdered the people between February 2018 and October 16, 2019. Police said Shiva, who hails from Eluru, began to cheat people after he incurred huge losses in the real estate business. He convinced his potential clients that he had supernatural powers and assured them that he would help them double their gold and precious stones. He would then collect their money and gold with a promise to give them 'rice-pulling coins'—a coin which is believed to bring prosperity.
He would then offer them cyanide-laced 'prasadam.' "He was using cyanide to kill his victims because no changes were observed in the bodies of the deceased and they appeared natural deaths," said a police officer.
According to the police, the killings came to light during investigation into a suspicious death in Eluru last month. K. Nagaraju (49), a government teacher, had died on October 16 after he had left his house with cash and jewellery to deposit them in the bank. Shiva had fooled him into paying Rs 2 lakh in exchange for a coin, which is believed to bring prosperity.
After the autopsy, Nagaraju's relatives expressed doubts over the death. During interrogation, Shiva confessed to the crime. As families of at least 10 contacts in Shiva's mobile phone had reported suspicious deaths since last year, the police launched in-depth investigations.
The cops found that Shiva's victims included his own grandmother and sister-in-law. FIRs were registered in only four cases. Police plan to exhume bodies of three victims. Investigators hope to collect further evidence to build a strong case against the accused.
Police also arrested Sheikh Aminullah, who runs nickel-coating workshop in Vijayawada, for allegedly supplying cyanide to Simhadri.
(with inputs from Onmanorama)
