Five followers nabbed for ‘pastor’s murder’

The Guntur Rural Police on Sunday claimed to have solved the mystery behind the murder of a pastor at Kolakaluru village in the district, by arresting five of his followers.

Guntur Rural SP Ch. Venkat Appalanaidu said the main accused, Arunbaka Rajesh, 37, had plotted the murder of Vunnam Subba Rao alias Daniel following a financial dispute.

The pastor was found dead in suspicious circumstances at his home on April 24 and the incident had created a sensation in the village.

The SP said that Rajesh, Vunnam Gopi, 20, Ponnaganti Pawan Kumar, 20, Suddapalli Prudhivi Raj, 23, and Kolakaluri Anandbabu, 30, confessed that they had killed the pastor by smothering him with a pillow.

Money withdrawn

The pastor had deposited ₹6 lakh in a bank after selling a piece of land. The accused, who were known to him, withdrew ₹4.78 lakh without his knowledge.

When the pastor came to know of this and threatened to file a police complaint, the accused had sought some time to repay the money and later hatched the murder plot, police said.

The police also seized sale deed papers pertaining to a residential plot worth ₹3.40 lakh and ₹83,000 from the accused.