Guntur police rule out gang rape in woman's death, says affair led to her murder

Guntur: In a new twist in the alleged gang rape and murder of a 35-year-old-woman at Thumupudi village under Duggirala mandal in Guntur district, the police said the woman was murdered but not raped. They further said an illicit affair was the reason behind the murder.

The woman's body, with nail marks and bite wounds, was found in her home on Wednesday evening. She had no clothes on.

The Guntur Urban police chief Arif Hafeez said the woman was a resident of Thumupudi village and made a living by renting water tubes and pipes to villagers for their farmlands. The woman's husband travels to various places in search of livelihood and is currently in Tirupati. The couple has a boy and a girl.

Mr. Hafeez said the woman had an illicit affair with K. Venkata Sai Satish. Police investigation revealed that the woman was murdered by Satish's friend M. Shiva Satya Sairam.

The police said Satish and Sairam went to the woman's house on Wednesday. When she refused to fulfill Sairam's sexual desires and threatened to raise an alarm, Sairam strangled her with her dupatta.

Satish and Sairam then tried to destroy the evidence by stealing the victim's mobile phone and by undressing her. "We have nabbed the two accused. It was a murder case and we ruled out gang rape," the police officer added.

Meanwhile, TDP leaders and activists led by Nara Lokesh staged a protest in Guntur alleging that crimes against women has been increasing in the state. There is no security for women in the state, they alleged.