The city police cracked the murder-for-gain case reported at Akkayyapalem on May 14 evening within 24 hours and arrested the accused, G. Ramu (53) of Thatichetlapalem, who was a tenant in a shop belonging to the victim’s husband, on Friday.

Addressing a press conference at the police conference hall, DCP (Crimes) Latha Madhuri said that Ramu had been operating a saloon in a shop owned by P. Chandrasekhar, husband of the deceased, P. Parvathi.

During the investigation, the police found that Ramu had been facing severe financial difficulties and had allegedly failed to pay rent for the shop for the past three months. Parvathi had reportedly been pressuring him to clear the pending dues, which is believed to have led to resentment.

On May 14, Ramu allegedly picked up an argument with Parvathi over the rent issue. During the altercation, he is suspected to have strangulated her to death and later removed gold ornaments from her body before fleeing from the scene.

After committing the crime, the accused allegedly attempted to escape to Hyderabad with the stolen gold ornaments. However, based on technical evidence and continuous tracking, special police teams apprehended him after a chase.

The police recovered the stolen property, including around five tolas of gold ornaments, from the accused.