Finally, cops unravel steel trader's murder mystery

Hyderabad: West Zone police along with Commissioners Task Force sleuths on Monday cracked the sensational murder case of steel trader T Ram Prasad and arrested five accused including the main accused Koganti Satyam.

The other accused are identified as T Shyam Sunder, P Bala Naga Anjaneya Prasad, M Pritham and P Ramu.

Addressing the media West Zone DCP AR Srinivas said that due to the business rivalry and delay in the payment of Rs 23 crore, Koganti Satyam hatched a plan and executed the murder of Ram Prasad.

To eliminate Ram Prasad, Satyam hatched a plan with Shyam who in turn hired the contract killers. The deal was done for Rs 10 lakh and Satyam paid Rs 3.5 lakh to the accused in advance.

Satyam hatched the plan with Shyam Sunder to mislead the police to save the actual murderers.

Shyam along with Chotu and Ramesh confessed that they have murdered Ram Prasad and gave Satyam clean chit. Police found 23 cases against the prime accused Koganti Satyam including the Ram Prasad's murder.

When the deceased Ram Prasad and his brother-in-law V Srinivas Rao had filed cases against Satyam and his associates T Shyam Sunder and others and got them arrested by Vijayawada police in 2012 and 2013, he planned to eliminate Ram Prasad.

Under their plan Koganti Satyam (60), owner of Kamakshi Steels hatched a plan with Shyam Sunder (50). In turn Shyam Sunder hired killers P Bala Naga Anjaneya Prasad (35), M Pritham (22) and P Ramu (27).

Simultaneously Satyam engaged his previous employers Suresh and Anand for conducting recce in the places of Ram Prasad's factory at Parigi, his residence at Khajaguda in Gachibowli and his office at Durganagar in Panjagutta.

They along with the help of Sriram Ramesh, Sheik Azharuddin (alias Chotu), P Naresh and Venkat Ram Reddy and did recce for one month. They came to a conclusion that Ram Prasad regularly visits to the Venkateshwara Swamy temple at Durganagar Colony in Panjagutta every Saturday.

He gave Rs 3 lakh to the accused to execute the murder and the dealing was settled for just Rs 10 lakh. Later on the direction of Satyam, Shyam prepared six swords in their factory in Vijayawada and concealed the same in a cricket kit along with leg pads and Suresh brought the kit having swords from Vijayawada to Hyderabad in the Bolero car.

On July 6 when Ram Prasad came out of the temple the accused Anjaneya Prasad, Pritham and Ramu attacked on his head and other parts of the indiscriminately with swords and absconded from the spot.

With the help of locals the employees of the deceased rushed him to the private hospital in Somajiguda where the doctors declared him brought dead.

By registering cases against the accused under sections 302, 203 r/w 120-B IPC and section 25 (1-B) (b) of Arms Act 1959 arrested five accused and judicially remanded them.

They seized three swords, a Bolero car, one bike and mobiles from their possession. Efforts are going on to nab the other 6 accused who are still absconding, the DCP said.

Steps will be taken to provide security to the deceased family members if needed, the DCP said.