VIJAYAWADA: In the sensational alleged woman kidnap-murder case in Krishna district, Machilipatnam police on Thursday arrested five persons in connection with the case. The incident had taken place in Inaguduru in the district.

The accused were identified as M Hari Krishna alias Nalla Hari, Bhagyalakshmi, P Ravi Kumar, Dasari Siva Krishna and Erra Rajesh, as reported by a daily.

Their samples were sent for COVID-19 test and later were sent to judicial custody.

Machilipatnam DSP Mehaboob Basha told media that on August 31, they received a missing complaint of a woman named P Padmaja. Her body was later found at a crematorium at Narketpally in Telangana by locals. Police identified her body by her tattoo and anklet.

Police said that prime suspect was her husband. The DSP said that the initially the murder accused staged the entire incident as murder for some gains.

Later, investigation found that Hari Krishna had married Padmaja’s niece Bhagyalakshmi. After Bhagyalakshmi suffered an abortion, she and Hari Krishna started accusing Padmaja of performing black magic and decided to kill her.

Hari Krishna along with his friends Ravi Kumar, Siva Krishna and Rajesh executed the plan and later abducted Padmaja and murdered her.