The police on Monday (December 01, 2025) arrested four persons for their involvement in the alleged abduction and murder of farmer Medari Pullaiah, 65, in Nandyal.
The Nandyal urban police said that Pullaiah, who lived alone in VC Colony in Nandyal, was reported missing on November 15. His son, Chinthala Aditya Prasad, residing in Bengaluru, had been unable to reach him over the phone and lodged a complaint on November 19 after finding both his father’s house and the gate to the agricultural fields locked and the CCTV footage missing from the house premises.
After registering a missing case, the police traced Pullaiah’s highly decomposed body on November 29 on the banks of Kundu River near the Tellapuri–Banganapalli stretch. A blunt injury on the forehead confirmed foul play, and the victim’s son identified the body.
The police said that the accused identified as Bhojanala Dhanunjaya (35), Gangadhara Raghava (33), Besta Srikanth (22) and Katepogu Santosh (20) of Nandyal conspired to murder the elderly man after noticing his assets. Dhanunjaya developed an acquaintance with the victim while assisting in the sale of his Deva Nagar house. He masterminded the murder to usurp the property and roped in the others with the promise of payment.
The gang abducted Pullaiah on November 14 using a hired SUV, took him to Bhogeshwaram temple in Gadivemula mandal, and demanded ₹25 lakh. When he refused, the accused allegedly strangled him with a rope, assaulted him on the chest, and hit him on the forehead with the end of the knife handle, killing him on the spot.
The police recovered a knife, two DVRs, a laptop and documents. The accused were remanded and further investigation is underway.
Published – December 01, 2025 07:33 pm IST
