HYDERABAD: The Nagarkurnool police on Thursday arrested Rajesh Ajjakolu, the co-accused in the killing of M. Sudhakar Reddy on November 26.
The police arrested another accused Swati, the wife of Sudhakar Reddy, four days ago. Swati and Rajesh were in love and wanted to live together.
Rajesh was taken to custody after he was discharged from a private hospital in the city. He was undergoing treatment for the burns he sustained in an attempt to get a facial transformation to make him look like Sudhakar Reddy.
Rajesh told mediapersons that Swati played a key role in masterminding the murder of her husband.
“I wanted to elope with Swati but she insisted that we kill Sudhakar Reddy as the children will not be able to stay without her. She also said that her parents will be shocked if they elope,” Rajesh told mediapersons.
On November 26, after killing Sudhakar Reddy, the duo bought petrol to disfigure Rajesh’s face so as to make him look like Sudhakar.
Pretending to be Sudhakar Reddy, Rajesh got admitted at a private hospital for treatment. However, he was caught when the family members of Sudhakar Reddy got suspicious.
They lodged a complaint with the police who took Swati into custody. She admitted to the killing.
“We will be producing Rajesh before a court and remand him. We will find out who played the vital role in the entire case,” said Mr Srinivasa Rao, inspector of the Nagarkurnool police station.
On November 26, the accused had drugged Reddy with an injection and attacked him with a sharp object, resulting in his death. They later took the body to a forest and set it on fire.
The woman, who had two children from her marriage with Reddy, wanted to get a plastic surgery done on her paramour, the inspector said. She was having an affair and wanted to live with him by getting rid of Sudhakar, the police added.
