An unidentified man was found dead under mysterious circumstances at an abandoned shed in Miryalaguda, Telangana. According to police, the structure belongs to Maruthi Rao, the prime accused in the caste killing case of Dalit man Pranay Perumalla. Pranay was married to Maruthi Rao’s daughter, Amrutha.
Residents near the Hanumanpet flyover on Addanki-Narkatpally highway alerted the police after noticing a foul smell in the area.
The shed was unlocked and not in use, according to residents. Police confirmed to TNM that the shed-like structure belongs to Maruthi Rao.
Speaking to TNM, Town Inspector Sada Nagaraju said, "An unidentified male body was found in a decomposed state. We have shifted to a government hospital and a postmortem was conducted."
He further added, "As per our preliminary probe, no injuries were found on the body. We have registered a case under section 174 of CrPC (Investigation of unnatural death) based on the post mortem and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reports we will alter the sections."
There are some allegations that the body was covered with a kind of oil. However, the inspector noted that the ‘liquid’ residue may have been a result of the decomposition of the body.
Police say the deceased may have been around 35 to 40 years old. The Clues team has investigated the scene and samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Hyderabad.
Police said that they have issued a 'found' notice for the body. However, the discovery of the body on Maruthi Rao’s premises has prompted discussion on his past criminal record.
Maruthi Rao allegedly hired contract killers for Rs 1 crore to murder Pranay. He was arrested days after the murder came to light.
Amrutha filed a case alleging that Maruthi Rao and his allies were threatening her and attempting to coerce her into testifying in favour of him in court. Miryalaguda police arrested Maruthi Rao and two others in December following this.
Pranay's father Bala Swamy has also alleged that Maruthi Rao was after their family to compromise the case.