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One death penalty, five life imprisonments awarded in Palnadu district in May: SP
Courts in Palnadu district pronounced one death penalty and five life imprisonments within a couple of weeks in May.
Narasaraopet XIII Additional District and Sessions Judge N. Satya Sri awarded capital punishment to Thanneru Ankamma Rao, a serial killer who committed three murders within three days in 2023.
Convicted in all three murders, Ankamma Rao was also sentenced of life imprisonment and a sentence of ten years in jail, apart from imposing a total fine of ₹15,000. The sentences were also pronounced within a week of the trial. Ankamma Rao had targeted three homeless women on three consecutive nights.
Palnadu District Superintendent of Police Kanchi Srinivasa Rao, in an interview with The Hindu on Tuesday, said: 'Ankamma Rao's case stands out as a precedent on how digital forensics can fast-track convictions.'
About the victims the SP said: 'The victims in this case were mentally unstable homeless women, and he killed them by smashing their heads with cement bricks, when they were sleeping on the roadside.' The police established the identity of one victim, by matching her DNA with her relatives. The department also produced CCTV footage as evidence, which played a crucial role in the investigation and in the trial. Ankamma Rao was given capital punishment for this murder.
He also said the judgement should send a strong message to the criminals. 'The Court highlighted the heightened criminality of preying on the vulnerable'. The SP said that Ankamma Rao was found guilty under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 394 (robbery) in this case.
Further, Mr. Srinivasa Rao said the effective court monitoring system adopted by the district police ensured a total of five life imprisonments and one death sentence in difference cases within a couple of weeks in May.
The other persons punished with life imprisonment include Vadithye Nageswara Rao Naik of Vemavaram village, Ballikurava mandal in Bapatla district in a case from 2019; Sk. Peda Baji and Sk. Beebi Fathima of Muppalla mandal in Palandu district in a case from 2021; Boggavarapu Nagaraju of Piduguralla town in a 2023 case; and Nasana Peda Kondaiah of Kunchainapalli village in Ipuru Mandal in a case from 2019.
