Two convicted for life in ‘cyanide killings’ case in Vijayawada

The Seventh Additional District Sessions Judge B. Abraham on Friday awarded life imprisonment to the accused Vellanki Simhadri alias Shiva and Shaik Ameenulla Babu alias Babu, in the sensational ‘cyanide killings’ case.

The convicted killed 1p persons by offering prasadams laced with cyanide in erstwhile West Godavari and Krishna districts in 2018 and 2019, the police said.

The modus operandi of the accused was to collect huge amount from the victims on the pretext of real estate, take them to temples and offer prasadam mixed with cyanide.

Later, they will make the death public and the family members believe that the victim died of cardiac arrest. The victims were from different locations in the two districts, said the West Godavari and NTR District police, who registered cases.

In 2019, the Eluru Three Town police had registered a case over the suspicious death of one T. Nagaraju, of Eluru. Police arrested the suspects, Simhadri of Eluru and Ameenulla of Vijayawada, who confessed to have killed Nagaraju by mixing cyanide in the prasadam.

In another case, one Gandikota Bhaskar Rao of Vadlamanu village, Agiripalli mandal, died in the same manner. Following a complaint lodged by Bhaskar Rao’s wife, Padmavathi, expressing doubt over the death the Ajitsingh Nagar police registered a case and took up the probe.

Then Ajitsingh Nagar Circle Inspector, S.V.V. Lakshminarayana took the accused into custody under prisoners transit warrant. During investigation, it was revealed that the victim made financial transactions in real estate business with the accused Simhadri and Ameenulla, who killed Bhaskar Rao by offering prasadam’mixed with cyanide.

The court awarded life imprisonment to the convicted in Ajitsingh Nagar case, the NTR Commissionerate police said.