At round 7 a.m. on January 9, sanitation staff Anjaiah and Shankaraiah climbed into their tractor trolley to force to Bheemla thanda (hamlet) in Venkatapur village in Telangana. The air was once cool and the force delightful. The dust street is flanked through a freshwater tank and luxurious inexperienced paddy fields. On their approach, the employees spotted a two-litre plastic bottle of petrol at the facet of the water tank. As they picked it up, an acrid odor hit their nostrils. The supply of the odor became out to be a burnt automotive mendacity through the wayside in a ditch. The employees moved nearer and located a charred frame mendacity within the driving force’s seat. They instantly rang up the village sarpanch, Lachcha Goud, who rushed to the spot and alerted the police. Inside mins, the entire village had descended at the spot, and started making wild guesses concerning the sufferer’s identification, Goud recalled. As information unfold concerning the unidentified frame within the village in Tekmal mandal in Medak district, 115 km north of Hyderabad, Superintendent of Police (SP) Rohini Priyadarshini went to the crime scene.
Barring the legs, the entire frame was once charred. Citizens of the village advised the police that the car perceived to belong to Pathloth Dharma, 44, from Bheemla thanda. Their suspicions have been reinforced when the police, whilst looking the realm, discovered a bag containing photocopies of identification playing cards — an Aadhaar card, a using license and a Secretariat worker card — all within the title of Dharma, who labored as an Assistant Phase Officer (ASO) within the Vigilance Fee of the Telangana Secretariat in Hyderabad.
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As phrase concerning the worker identity card reached the thanda, Dharma’s spouse Neela got here working to the spot. To the police, she gave the impression distraught. “Neela showed that the sufferer was once her husband. We then started to wonder whether this was once an twist of fate or a case of murder,” stated the SP. With out a readability at the cases resulting in the sufferer’s dying, the police registered a case of suspicious dying underneath Phase 174 of the Legal Process Code. The frame was once given to the circle of relatives after medical doctors on the Medak Executive Health center carried out a autopsy. Tomorrow, Dharma’s members of the family carried out the general rites at their agricultural box.
Puzzling questions
Whilst Dharma’s members of the family gave the look to be suffering to deal with the surprising loss, the police have been confused concerning the sufferer’s legs. Dharma and maximum of his members of the family have been fair-skinned folks, whilst the sufferer’s legs, that have been now not burnt, advised that he was once dark-skinned. Additionally, the tough pores and skin and powerful muscle groups advised that he had carried out numerous guide paintings, while Dharma’s was once a white-collared task.
Neela insisted that the sufferer was once her husband. She claimed that the scars on his legs have been the result of an previous harm. To begin with, the police explored the potential for the dying having been led to through an twist of fate. The sufferer, they concept, will have to have misplaced keep an eye on of the auto within the darkness. There may have been sparks as the auto hit a pole. However the petrol bottle advised that there was once a better chance of Dharma having been murdered and the auto being set on hearth.
Dharma’s members of the family advised the police that it was once not likely that any one would have a major cause to kill him. Investigators secured the decision information file of Dharma’s cell phone. The final name won through him was once from his nephew, Jeevan, at 9.21 p.m. on January 8. The police picked up Jeevan and every other nephew, Tejavath Srinivas. They discovered not anything incriminating in opposition to Jeevan. Srinivas, too, gave them convincing solutions to all their questions. He advised the police that he used to talk to his maternal uncle frequently at the telephone about circle of relatives issues.
As research of the calls persevered, a lone name from an individual, who was once now not on Dharma’s touch listing, attracted their consideration, investigators stated. The decision was once won at round 11.30 a.m. on January 7. The site of the tower indicated that the decision were made out of Chegunta of Medak district, just about 60 km west of the crime scene.
The decision was once made out of the telephone of a tea stall proprietor, who was once it sounds as if surprised when a squad of policemen became up at his position in Chegunta. He stated he didn’t know Dharma, nor had he referred to as him. He stated a buyer had approached him on January 7, asking him whether or not he may just make a choice from his telephone. He gave the person his telephone, he advised the police.
The tea stall proprietor stated he would have the ability to recognise the person if he noticed him once more. When proven footage of Dharma and his members of the family, the tea stall proprietor recognised Srinivas however now not Dharma, a lot to the marvel of the police. The police once more picked up Srinivas, who feigned innocence. However, on repeated wondering, Srinivas made a startling admission: neither had he killed his uncle, nor was once the charred frame his uncle’s. With this disclosure, it was transparent to the police that Dharma was once, in reality, alive. However this discovering precipitated extra questions. Who then was once the sufferer? Who killed him? And why?
Mounting debt
Dharma attempted to evade the police, however was once in any case stuck on January 17. After interrogating him, SP Priyadarshini introduced that the ASO had tried to faux his personal dying through killing every other guy. The sufferer was once known as Babu Maroti Galgayi of Nanded in Maharashtra. Babu, a labourer, used to take the teach day-after-day to Nizamabad and go back house at evening.
Pathloth Dharma’s space at Bheemla thanda in Venkatapur village.
| Photograph Credit score:
Mohd. Arif
Dharma, who hailed from a decrease middle-class circle of relatives, started his occupation as a central authority faculty instructor. A couple of years later, he cleared the Crew-II exam and was once decided on as an ASO. In 2016, he purchased a pre-owned flat in Kukatpally, a suburb of Hyderabad, and were given it renovated. He borrowed ₹50 lakh for this, in keeping with the remand file. As his per month wage was once inadequate to each go back loans and for his common bills, Dharma entered inventory marketplace buying and selling.
“To start with, he made just right beneficial properties. However later, he suffered large losses,” the SP stated at a media convention. Dharma secured cash from chit budget to proceed on-line buying and selling. He misplaced cash once more and was once quickly neck-deep in debt. “To return out of this debt lure, he hatched a plot to faux his dying and declare insurance coverage,” the SP stated. The ASO bought just about 25 insurance coverage insurance policies value ₹7.4 crore. His plan was once to homicide any person and create the realization that he were killed. His members of the family would then declare insurance coverage through presenting his dying certificates. Dharma deliberate to then sign up for them somewhere else with a distinct identification, in keeping with the remand file.
Other crime, equivalent modus operandi
In accordance with the ASO’s confession, the police modified the case from suspicious dying to homicide through invoking Phase 302 of the Indian Penal Code. Because the investigators began reconstructing the crime scene, they discovered that extra surprising details got here to the fore. Dharma’s modus operandi, they discovered, was once very similar to that of Dheeravath Raju, who had dedicated an offence of a far better scale in Nalgonda district in 2021.
In 2021, a girl had approached Wadapally police of Nalgonda, elevating doubts over the dying of her 42-year-old son, D. Kotireddy. The person were discovered useless beside the divider at the Narketpally-Addanki freeway. It gave the look to be a hit-and-run case, however the lady complained that she had spotted accidents at the again and temple of her son’s head. Because the post-mortem file was once now not exact about the reason for dying, the police despatched a questionnaire to a group of forensic medical doctors who stated that it is usually a case of murder.
The spot of dying was once as regards to a wine store the place the sufferer had labored. On being puzzled, the wine store proprietor and others gave clues concerning the motion of a few individuals within the space previous to the incident. The police picked up one suspect, Raju. “On interrogation, we discovered that he and his accomplices had dedicated 4 murders from 2013 onwards for insurance coverage,” Miryalaguda Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Y. Venkateshwara Rao recalled.
In keeping with the DSP, Raju labored as an agent with a personal insurance coverage corporate. There, he realized how folks get insurance coverage advantages within the match of the death of the coverage holder. “Some 10 years in the past, he controlled to take an insurance coverage within the title of a useless individual, and through colluding with the insurance coverage corporate investigator, claimed the sum through providing some cash to the useless individual’s spouse,” Rao defined.
Having tasted luck, Raju began figuring out males who have been ill or hooked on liquor, in order that they may well be simply lured. “He satisfied members of the family of such individuals to take insurance coverage insurance policies and he paid the top class,” Rao stated. Raju stored an eye fixed on Kotireddy and realized that his spouse was once having an affair with any person. He satisfied the girl and her spouse to sign up for his conspiracy, in keeping with the remand file filed through the Wadapally police of Nalgonda in courtroom. He paid the top class for 3 non-public twist of fate insurance policies of ₹45 lakh, ₹50 lakh and ₹25 lakh in 2020. On February 24, 2021, he and his buddies introduced Kotireddy liquor after which murdered him and dumped his frame beside the divider, the remand file mentioned. “They drove a tractor over the frame to make it appear to be a street twist of fate,” Rao defined.
A plan long gone flawed
Not like Raju, Dharma didn’t search the assistance of any outsider. “As money owed fastened, he advised his members of the family at one level that he would kill himself in order that his spouse will get a role,” stated Medak DSP Saidulu, who supervised the investigation. Later, the circle of relatives determined that it was once higher to kill any person else to faux Dharma’s dying, the police stated.
“The ASO started visiting bus stands and railway stations in Hyderabad to seek out individuals who appear to be him,” stated Saidulu. In December 2022, Dharma discovered a labourer named Anjaiah within the Nampally railway station. He introduced Anjaiah a role in his box within the thanda for a wage of ₹30,000 a month. The employee agreed.
The ASO then bought a pre-owned compact sedan within the 3rd week of December. Saidulu stated Dharma and Srinivas picked up Anjaiah from the Nampally railway station on January 7. The ASO gave Anjaiah an advance sum of ₹5,000. At the approach, Anjaiah again and again requested Dharma if that they had reached the sphere. Aggravated through his queries, Dharma requested the employee if he was once under the influence of alcohol. Anjaiah admitted that he had ate up some liquor. Dharma was once nervous that this might smash his plan. “He had heard that insurance coverage claims are rejected if the post-mortem file unearths lines of alcohol within the frame,” Saidulu stated. As an alternative of going to the thanda, Dharma and Srinivas determined to visit Nizamabad and execute their plan tomorrow. In Nizamabad, they checked right into a hotel. Additionally they took again the cash from Anjaiah, afraid that he would use it to drink liquor once more.
However, Anjaiah nonetheless controlled to step out and drink some liquor at a wine store together with his personal cash, stated Saidulu. However, he misplaced his technique to the hotel. Anjaiah sought the assistance of a passer-by, who stated it could be higher for him to go back to Hyderabad through catching a teach on the native railway station as a substitute of losing time discovering the hotel. Anjaiah returned to Hyderabad, whilst Dharma waited impatiently for him on the hotel.
Disenchanted over the flip of occasions, Dharma went to Nizamabad railway station on the lookout for a brand new goal. He discovered Babu, a daily-wage earner. Dharma introduced him a role with a day-after-day pay of ₹1,000 and Babu approved the be offering. The one factor that troubled Dharma, who was once bald, was once Babu’s head of thick hair. “So, Dharma took Babu to Basara through bus and were given him tonsured there,” the DSP stated. On being requested why Babu agreed to this, the police stated he was once most likely determined for a role.
From there, Dharma rang up Srinivas and requested him to come back to Basara too. The duo then started using in opposition to Bheemla thanda together with Babu. At the approach, they purchased toddy and made Babu get under the influence of alcohol till he was once semi-unconscious. The police imagine that Dharma didn’t call to mind the potential for alcohol being detected within the frame within the autopsy file and spoiling his plans; he sought after to kill Babu at any value and easily was hoping that his plan would paintings.
The 2 males reached the outskirts of Venkatapur round middle of the night. They aroused from sleep Babu, made him take a seat within the entrance passenger seat, and locked the auto doorways after sprinkling petrol within the car. Holding the tools shift in impartial, they driven the auto into the trench. The car hit the pole. Dharma then shattered the rear window glass. When the fearful employee attempted to scramble out, Dharma hit his head with an awl. After making sure that Babu was once useless, the lads driven him onto the driving force’s seat and set the auto on hearth, the DSP stated. Dharma and his nephew have been arrested on January 17. The ASO’s spouse Neela, sister Sundha and son have been arrested tomorrow for taking part within the conspiracy.
The homicide has left the citizens of Bheemla thanda disturbed. Dharma, whom the citizens described as a mild-mannered guy, was once the one one within the thanda to have landed a central authority task. “We had was hoping that he would lend a hand no less than one individual from each and every of those 26 homes safe a central authority task. As an alternative, he has landed in jail,” stated Tukaram, a personal safety guard from the thanda. Their best position type has introduced them shame, all due to his greed.
