Eluru: A gang of four persons was arrested by the West Godavari police in connection to the rape and murder case which took place near an ancient monastery at Jeelakarragudem of Kamavarapu Kota Mandal on February 24.

According to the police, the accused had raped 32 women, killed three men and a woman since 2017.

In the Jeelakarragudem incident, a young couple was attacked with the woman sexually assaulted before being killed. It was suspected to be honour killing, however, the West Godavari police revealed to the media on Sunday that the accused in the incident are serial killers.

The accused, identified as Potluri Ankama Rao, Thupakula Somayya, Thupakula Gangayya, and Nagaraju have been involved in several incidents of rape. The police, so far have got information that the accused had raped 32 women in the last two years. However, only a few cases of rape were registered against them. The police informed that the gang targetted lovers in deserted areas and attack the male member initially before raping the woman.

In their first crime, they attacked a couple in a plantation of Vadlamanuru in Agiripalli Mandal in 2017 which was followed by attacks on lovers in Ibrahimpatnam and Khammam district. So far, seven cases have been registered against the gang including two cases of rape in Krishna, one in Ibrahimpatnam, two in Nuziveedu, one in Madhira, Khammam and one in Thadikalapudi, West Godavari district. It is learned that the gang had attacked 32 couples since 2017, raping the women in all instances, further killing three men and a woman.

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