Triple murder mystery in Anantapur temple solved; Five held

Anantapur: Over three months of investigation and travelling over 7,000 km, finally the Anantapur police on Tuesday solved the mystery behind the triple murder case of Korthikota Temple by nabbing five persons.

It may be recalled that three persons Shivarami Reddy and his sister Kamalamma and another woman Satya were found murdered in the premises of Lord Siva temple at Korthikota village under Tanakal Mandal in Anantapur district on July 14, 2019.

The three dead bodies were found outside the Korthikota village temple while their blood was splattered over the Sivalingam inside the temple.

Superintendent of Police, Anantapur, Satya Yeshu Babu said that the five-member gang had a strong belief that there is a hidden treasure (diamonds and others) in the temple.

They decided to loot the hidden treasure by splattering the blood over Sivalingam and digging up the Sivalingam.

As per their plan, they went to the temple in anantapur on July 14 night and murdered Shivarami Reddy, one of the priests and two women by slitting their throats.

Though the gang dug some portion of the Sivalingam, they fled from the spot since they noticed it was early morning and suspecting that they may land in trouble.

Initially, the police suspected that it was a human sacrifice and later they suspected that it was a handiwork of treasure hunters, who wanted to appease spirit to guide them to the hidden diamonds and gold.

With this clue, the police interrogated over 300 persons and visited several places. The police finally nabbed the gang, who confessed the crime.

The arrested have been identified as residents of Anantapur and Kadapa districts of Rayalaseema, Andhra Pradesh.