Couple, son arrested in doctor’s murder case

Police arrested a couple and their son on charge of murdering a private doctor Pocha Srikanth Reddy, 47, at Udumulapadu in Dhone mandal in Kurnool district on May 10 night, Kurnool Superintendent of Police Gopinath Jatti said on Tuesday.

Murari Narasimha, his wife Nagaratna and son Murari Chandrasekhar were arrested near Panchalingala village on Kurnool-Hyderabad national highway on Tuesday morning, the SP told the media here. A group of persons requested Srikanth Reddy to treat an ailing person and took him in an autorickshaw on May 10 night and his bloodstained body was found on May 11th morning.

Kurnool Range DIG Ghattamaneni Srinivas and the SP inspected the murder scene and pressed the clues and technical teams and sniffer dog squads into service. The doctor’s stethoscope and a 10-litre plastic can with bloodstains were found near the body of Srikanth Reddy, the only son of a popular doctor Pocha Siva Prabhakar Reddy.

On a complaint lodged by the deceased’s wife suspecting that a death certificate issued by her husband for an insurance claim or a property dispute could have led to his murder, police constituted five teams and appointed OSD Raviprakash as special officer for investigation, the SP said.

‘Insurance on fictitious name’

Explaining the investigation findings, the SP said with a view to duping Bajaj Allianz Insurance Company, Murari Narasimha took two insurance policies for ₹9 lakh and ₹8 lakh respectively two years ago in the name of ‘Maddi Suresh’ by producing fictitious documents and paid one premium each. On getting the policy bonds, Narasimha paid ₹2,000 to Srikanth Reddy and took a death certificate in the name of Maddi Suresh and then a death certificate from Dhone municipality.

Narasimha filed a death claim for ₹34 lakh by showing his wife Nagaratna as the spouse of Maddi Suresh. During inquiry, the insurance inspector reported that Maddi Suresh was a fictitious name and the photograph in the policies were that of Murari Narasimha and rejected his insurance claims, the SP said.

Subsequently, Nagaratna filed a death claim petition in Kurnool consumer court for ₹34 lakh by claiming that her husband ‘Maddi Suresh’ died. But the case was struck down as the doctor Srikanth Reddy deposed that he gave the death certificate by mistake. Following this, the three accused plotted to kill Srikanth Reddy, the SP stated.

The trio hatched a plan to kill the doctor and burn the body by dousing it with petrol and subsequently file an appeal in the civil court for the insurance claim, the SP said. Murari Narasimha and his son Murari Chandrasekhar took the doctor in an auto to Udumulapadu, killed him by hitting him on his head with a pestle and dragged the body into bushes.

As the petrol can was bloodstained, they came on to the road for getting a fresh can for petrol, but left for the bus stand on spotting a police highway patrol vehicle. A week before the murder, the accused prematurely withdrew a deposit of ₹16,300 in Dhone post office, so that they need not go to Dhone for it later.

The investigation revealed that Narasimha had earlier obtained an insurance claim of ₹4.10 lakh by showing that his mother-in-law Seshama died, though she was alive, the SP said.

The SP lauded OSD Raviprakash, Dhone DSP Baba Fakruddin, Circle Inspector Rajagopala Naidu and Sub-Inspector Srinivasulu and staff.