Telangana: Medchal police nab accused for brutal murder and robbery of woman in Athvelly

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 20 (ANI): Medchal Police have arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with the brutal murder and robbery of a woman in Athvelly village, Telangana.
The accused, Katiike Rakesh, son of late Gopal, a labourer from Saidabad, Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad, originally from Lingampet town, Kamareddy district, was taken into custody following swift police action.
On the morning of May 16, police received information about a partially burnt female body found inside a rented house in Athvelly.
Medchal Inspector A. Satyanarayana and his team arrived at the scene and found the deceased, identified as Dasari Lalitha, aged 50, with grievous injuries including a slit throat, and severed ears and nose.
The house owner, Mohd Ajaz, reported that Lalitha had been residing there for six months and that neighbours alerted him to thick smoke coming from the house at around 4 AM. Upon breaking the lock, Ajaz and his father found Lalitha's body engulfed in flames.
Following the complaint, SIP Manmadha Rao registered a case under FIR No. 465/2025 under Sections 103(1), 305, and 238 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Inspector Satyanarayana took charge of the investigation. Police formed special teams and, using technical evidence and CCTV footage from the crime scene and nearby Medchal bus stop, successfully apprehended the accused.
The accused had recently been incapacitated due to an accident and was living with his mother in Dilsukhnagar, working odd jobs.
Financial difficulties led him to consider theft. After a failed burglary attempt at a milk shop, his mother contacted Lalitha, a former co-worker from Patancheru dumping yard, to seek help finding a job for him. Lalitha, living alone in Athvelly, invited them to her workplace at a wine shop in Kistapur on May 15 and assured assistance.
That evening, the trio consumed toddy in Kistapur. Later, at Medchal bus stop, the accused's mother returned home while he stayed with Lalitha. At her rented room, he coerced her into drinking more toddy. When she fell asleep, he attempted to steal her jewellery.
Facing resistance, he slit her throat with a kitchen knife, mutilated her body by cutting off her nose and ears to remove jewellery, set the body on fire, locked the room, and fled with the stolen ornaments.
Police recovered seized items including gold ear studs and nose studs weighing 5 grams, silver nuptials, bracelet, and ring totaling 60 grams, cash worth Rs 3,500, the deceased's navy blue keypad cell phone, the accused's red Oppo smartphone, and the room key locked by the accused after the murder.
The arrest was made under the supervision of DCP Medchal Zone N. Koti Reddy, IPS, along with Additional DCP Purushottam, ACP Shankar Reddy, SHO A. Satyanarayana, DI Sudheer Krishna, DI Satish, and other Medchal Police officials.
The police efforts in swiftly solving this gruesome murder and robbery case within 72 hours were highly appreciated and will be suitably rewarded, said the Deputy Commissioner of Police. (ANI)