Two arrested from Hyderabad for journalist's murder in Malkangiri
Malkangiri SP Vinodh Patil on Saturday said accused Sukumar Ray (25) of MV-75 and Konkan Jordar (21) of MPV-82 were nabbed from Hyderabad. On July 12, Ray and Jordar were present near the crime scene, located around 9 km from Motu.
Naresh and four others were travelling in an SUV when an altercation broke out between them and the accused. Subsequently, Naresh was brutally attacked with a sword. The attackers also attempted to assault Tarun Kumar, one of the victim's companions. However, he managed to escape after throwing the car keys into a nearby bush. The accused took the keys and fled the scene with the car.
Tarun and others later transported the injured Naresh to Motu health centre from where he was referred to the district headquarters hospital in Malkangiri. However, he was declared brought dead.
The SP said three teams were formed to conduct raids across Malkangiri and neighbouring districts. With assistance from the Crime Branch and State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL), sketches of the suspects were prepared and widely circulated. Based on technical and circumstantial evidence, the identities of the accused were confirmed. It was found that they had fled to Hyderabad to evade arrest. Acting on technical and local intelligence, a team was dispatched to Hyderabad, where the two accused were arrested.
Police have recovered the vehicle used by the victim and his friends, as well as the motorcycle used by the accused during the crime. The accused will be produced in court and taken on remand for further interrogation.
Patil said the motive behind the murder will be revealed following further investigation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Prajwal Revanna case: key evidence missing, court lauds Karnataka SIT's scientific probe that led to rape conviction
A crucial piece of evidence in the sexual assault case against former Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna – an iPhone that was used to record videos of the crime against a domestic worker – was not recovered during the investigation. However, information obtained from Apple, combined with statements from the survivor and witnesses, besides scientific evidence gathered by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Police together resulted in Prajwal's conviction. A special court for elected representatives on Saturday sentenced Revanna to life imprisonment for the rape of a domestic worker at his family's farmhouse, in the first of four cases of rape and sexual harassment that emerged after explicit videos recorded by the former MP himself emerged in public last year. Prajwal, the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and the son of the former Karnataka minister H D Revanna, was convicted of raping the woman while 'being in a position of control or dominance'. The special court has in its order termed the crime a 'grave offence' and one committed by a person with sophisticated means, while appreciating the stand of the victim and the SIT's efforts in establishing the evidence to prosecute Prajwal. 'The allegations which were levelled and also the nature of the materials which were required to be collected clearly indicates that it is a case of its own kind where explicit and obscene videos of several respectable women in society, involving the accused, went viral without the trace of original video/image…the task of the prosecution was Herculean in nature,' the special court judge noted in his 480-page verdict. One of the biggest hurdles in the investigation was proving that the videos of sexual assaults on the domestic worker and others were genuine and recorded by the former MP himself on an iPhone that is believed to have been destroyed after the videos emerged. The SIT proved that the videos were genuine using multiple techniques like video analysis, voice sample testing, superimposing of images of the assaults with images of the location of the assault, as well as forensic comparison of body parts of Prajwal with the images seen in the videos, apart from DNA matching of hair follicles and stains found on clothing of the victim found at the farmhouse. Besides convicting Prajwal to life imprisonment for rape, the special court also convicted him for destruction of evidence in the form of the original recordings on the iPhone. 'The prosecution has also proved the fact that the accused had recorded the act of forcible sexual intercourse in his mobile phone which could not be secured/seized and though the accused had feigned his ignorance of recording the incident or owning a mobile phone, certain suggestions were put forth during the course of cross-examination by the accused that he had owned an Apple iPhone and also the data collected from would justify the case of the prosecution,' the ruling stated. 'Since the mobile phone was in the custody of the accused, it was his bounden duty to produce the same and even for the sake of argument if it is contended that he had lost the same, it would have been different. But denial of possessing the same is falsified by the evidence which is obtained from company…,' the court observed. It further stated that since the device was not to be found, 'the submission of the prosecution that he had destroyed the mobile phone to screen the evidence is to be accepted and accordingly the prosecution has proved their case beyond reasonable doubt with respect to commission of offence under Sec 201 of IPC (destruction of evidence).' The special court also noted that 'the alleged incidents were captured and recorded by accused Prajwal Revanna in his mobile phone in order to pressurise the victim to accede to his request is also proved by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt.' The special court referred to statements made by Karthik N – Prajwal's former car driver who allegedly accessed the MP's iPhone secretly – about his knowledge of the password '8055' (BOSS) and documents furnished by the Apple company to substantiate the fact that the video recordings were done on the then MP's phone. Referring to a reply provided by Apple to an SIT query, the court observed that the response 'when considered with suggestions put forth by the accused during the course of cross-examination of PW-10 Karthik that 8055 was not the password of his iPhone, the same would lead to draw an inference that the accused had admitted categorically of using iPhone at that point of time'. The court also noted that 'even in the absence of the original…the report of the FSL would indicate that the videos were not edited or morphed'. Specially mentioning the efforts of the SIT headed by B K Singh, Additional Director General of Police, Crime Investigation Department (CID), the court said that 'the SIT formed for investigation of the aforesaid case are to be appreciated for conducting and analysing the digital evidence with the help of forensic experts…'. The SIT adopted and utilised 'modern technology of scientific examination…to lend assurance to the evidence of the victim,' the court noted, adding that for the first time in Karnataka, 'the SIT had requested the Forensic Science Laboratory to superimpose the images of the environment of the room found in the videos with that of the images which were captured scientifically during the course of investigation and also to examine the image patterns, voice analysis in a scientific manner.'
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
How India's first use of body mapping tech nailed Prajwal Revanna in rape case
In a first-of-its-kind forensic move, Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sex abuse and trafficking case against former Hassan MP from Karnataka, Prajwal Revanna, has conclusively identified him in a viral sex video using a cutting-edge technology known as Anatomical Comparison of Genital marks the debut of the technique in India, previously used only in countries like to the SIT, the forensic breakthrough played a crucial role in securing his identification. Sources confirmed that high-resolution screenshots from the video were matched with medically obtained photographs of Revanna's genitalia, waist, and The comparison was conducted under strict medical protocol, with input from dermatologists and urologists. The method hinges on the principle that, like fingerprints, genital and body features are unique to each individual. Even partial matches are considered strong evidence in forensic say the use of this method was pivotal in establishing that the man seen in the explicit video is Prajwal Revanna, bolstering the legal case that eventually led to his life sexual assault cases against Prajwal Revanna came to the forefront after a pen drive containing explicit videos filmed by him was reportedly circulated ahead of last year's Lok Sabha elections. Revanna was the NDA candidate from Hassan, fielded by both the BJP and JD(S), in the the course of the investigation and trial, the survivor submitted a saree as physical evidence, which she had preserved. Forensic analysis later confirmed the presence of sperm on the saree, which was presented in court and accepted as key evidence in establishing the rape.- EndsTrending Reel IN THIS STORY#Karnataka
India Today
3 hours ago
- India Today
Andhra liquor scam: New video shows Jagan Reddy party leader's aide counting cash
A new video linked to the Andhra Pradesh liquor scam has surfaced, showing stacks of cash reportedly worth Rs 35 crore. The video was allegedly found on the phone of Venkatesh Naidu, who is named Accused No. 34 (A-34) in the case. Naidu, a close aide of YSRCP senior leader Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, is seen in the video counting bundles of cash, which investigators say came through hawala cash includes both Rs 500 notes and old, demonetised Rs 2000 notes. It is suspected to have come from a distillery company and was allegedly sent to Chevireddy as proof of receipt. Naidu has been taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in who is known to be closely associated with former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, has been listed as Accused No 38 (A-38) in the case. Reddy was detained by the SIT on June 18 in Bengaluru. The YSRCP had previously alleged that the arrests of MP PV Midhun Reddy, former MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, retired IAS officer K Dhanunjaya Reddy, Officer on Special Duty Krishna Mohan Reddy, and others in connection with the liquor case were part of a targeted crackdown by the TDP-led government in Andhra Pradesh.- EndsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Andhra Pradesh
