Anantapur: The Proddatur Second Additional District Judge sentenced a son, his wife, and her brother to life imprisonment on Tuesday for the murder of a 63-year-old man from Mydukur, Kadapa district, stemming from a property dispute and an extramarital affair in 2014.
Muddamshetty Venkata Subbaiah had operated the Lakshmi Bhavan hotel for many years. He was married and had two sons and a daughter. His elder son, Nagaraju, died by suicide a few years after marrying Supraja, with whom he had two daughters. Following Nagaraju's death, Venkata Subbaiah entrusted hotel management to Supraja.
However, while managing the hotel, Supraja engaged in an affair with a staff member. Upon discovering this, Venkata Subbaiah confronted her, reclaimed control of the hotel, and sent her to stay with his younger son, M. Shiva Prasad, in Hyderabad. There, Supraja began another affair, this time with her brother-in-law, which was reported to Venkata Subbaiah by his daughter.
Amid ongoing disputes, Supraja demanded a share of the family property, which Venkata Subbaiah refused, stating it would go to his granddaughters. Consequently, Shiva Prasad, Supraja, and her brother M. Jagannath conspired to kill Venkata Subbaiah in order to seize the property. They attacked him with hunting sickles at a guesthouse in Muddireddipalli on December 30, 2014.
The Mydukur urban police acted on a complaint from watchman G. Mahesh and registered a case against the trio.
On Tuesday, Judge G.N. Ramesh Kumar delivered the verdict, sentencing Shiva Prasad, Supraja, and Jagannath to life imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs. 4 lakh after the prosecution established their guilt.
Kadapa SP Harshavardhan Raju commended the Mydukur police for their diligent efforts in securing justice for the victim's family.
