Three held for Hyderabad serial killings

With the arrest of three people, the Hyderabad Police today claimed to have solved the case of nine serial killings on the outskirts of Hyderabad .

With the arrest of three people, the Hyderabad Police today claimed to have solved the case of nine serial killings on the outskirts of Hyderabad . The last six killings all took place within a week, say police. All victims had their heads crushed with boulders. Police officials say one of the victims was raped and that the accused confessed to killing victims over paltry sums of cash, the lowest being Rs 3.

Nalubothula Ramulu 23, Pakkiri Pavan 21 and Ravinder Reddy 28 had last picked up Radhabai, police commissioner S Prabhakar Reddy said. She was raped and killed.

Earlier, Ramulu and Pavan killed two men , Mohammed. Dasthagir 25 and Mohammed 22 using the same modus operandi, and left their bodies in a hilly area in Rajendranagar.

8220;It is a pathetic story, where the accused are addicted to alcohol and killed these victims for paltry sums of money,8221; Reddy said. The duo lured Dasthagir and Mohammed to the hills after drinking toddy with them, promising to also procure them prostitutes. They then allegedly killed them by crushing their heads with rocks and took Rs 400 and two cell phones.

Police officials say the men confessed to another murder before this. 8220;About three days prior to the incident, they killed two people in the bushes in front of Pariwar Dhaba in the same area by smashing their heads with boulders and robbed cash of Rs 30 and Rs. 70 from them,8221; the Commissioner said.

On January 4, the three met Radhabai in Thimmapur, and after raping her, killed her in the same way. After allegedly killing her, they looted her ornaments; they did not even spare the Rs 3 on her.

Early last year, Ramulu and Ravinder Reddy allegedly killed Vijay kumar with a boulder, and threw his body in a well in Shamshabad, after taking Rs 600 from him. Later, along with a fourth accused, Behari Venkat, who is still absconding, Ramulu killed a security guard near the airport and robbed him of Rs 100 and a cell phone. The trio also killed two others in the year by crushing their heads with boulders.

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Reddy said the men could have been sodomised before they were killed.

8220;We had a lot of difficulty because we could not establish the motive behind the murders,8221; said the commissioner. No motive has been established so far, either. All three accused are daily wage labourers, and allegedly drink together regularly.