Daijiworld Media Network - Chittoor

Chittoor, Oct 31: In a landmark judgment, a local court in Andhra Pradesh on Friday sentenced five men to death for the brutal 2015 murder of former Chittoor Mayor Katari Anuradha and her husband, Katari Mohan.

The couple was gruesomely killed inside the Chittoor Municipal Corporation office on November 17, 2015, in what police had described as a shocking daylight attack stemming from a long-standing family dispute.

The prime accused, identified as Mohan’s nephew, Sriram Chandrasekhar, was found guilty along with Govinda Swami Srinivasaiah Venkatachalapathy alias Venkatesh, Jayaprakash Reddy alias Jayareddy, Manjunath alias Manju, and Muniratnam Venkatesh.

According to the prosecution, the accused had entered the municipal office disguised in burqas before launching a brutal assault with knives and daggers, and later fatally shooting Katari Anuradha. Her husband, Mohan, also succumbed to his injuries in the attack.

Police investigations revealed that the murders were the fallout of an intense property and family feud.

Tight security arrangements were made at the Chittoor court during the pronouncement of the verdict. Only court staff were permitted inside the premises, with authorities imposing strict restrictions on public gatherings, rallies, and celebrations to maintain law and order.

The court’s decision, nearly a decade after the shocking double murder, has brought a sense of closure to the high-profile case that had once sent shockwaves across Andhra Pradesh.