The nine migrant workers who were found dead in an abandoned well in Gorrekunta of Warangal Rural district on 21st and 22nd of this month were murdered as part of a planned plot.

The police investigation revealed that Sanjay Kumar Yadav, another migrant worker from Bihar, plotted the murder of Maqsood’s son-in-law Khathun. He is said to have had financial disputes with Maqsood. Hence he decided to kill the entire family.

Sanjay saw an opportunity when Maqsood was celebrating his grandson’s birthday on May 20 and decided to execute his plan. He went to the party uninvited. He mixed the cool drinks with sleeping pills and after all those present at the party fell unconscious, he along with an auto driver Mohan, a resident of Chintal, threw them into the well one-by-one.

Further, the duo collected all their mobile phones and threw them on the outskirts of the city. CCTV cameras and call data from the phones of the deceased helped the police identify the killer. Interrogation is still going on regarding the exact way the murder was executed. The police may officially arrest the accused on Monday.

Since the time the deaths were uncovered, the police had been questioning all the people close to the deceased Maqsood’s family and recording their statements. Two migrant workers from Bihar — Sanjay Kumar Yadav and Mohan — who were frequently in touch with Maqsood were brought to the crime scene as part of the inquiry on Saturday.

Mamnoor ACP G. Shyam Sunder told The Hindu that based on the background check of the family, it was clear they had no conflict with any outsiders. In our investigation too we found out that Maqsood’s family was friendly with all. People in the neighbourhood of their workplace and their co-workers echoed the same opinion, he said.

Six teams worked on the case. The forensic experts who completed the post-mortem of the deceased on Saturday screened the crime scene for more clues.

Head of Forensic Department at the MGM Hospital Md Raza Mallik said: “It did appear that the victims swallowed the water and died. Which means they were alive when they were thrown in the well. There are scratches on some of the bodies. All the viscera and sternum bones have been preserved and sent for chemical analysis to labs.”