Hyderabad: A former engineering college assistant professor was arrested for allegedly murdering his neighbour during an attempt to steal her gold jewellery after she recognised him at her residence under Meerpet police station limits.
The accused, Gadda Rajkumar, was taken into custody by the Meerpet police during the investigation and reportedly confessed to the crime during questioning.
According to the police, Rajkumar had suffered losses of nearly Rs 4 crore in the stock market and accumulated substantial debts. He allegedly planned to steal the jewellery of his neighbour, Anitha (34), who lived on a lower floor of the same apartment building, to repay his loans.
He entered Anitha’s house wearing a helmet when she was alone. After she recognised him and raised an alarm, he allegedly attacked her with an iron box and killed her. He then hid the stolen jewellery and returned home, police said.
Anitha’s children returned from school in the evening and found her lying in a pool of blood. They shifted her to DRDO Apollo Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
Anitha was living with her husband, Arun Kumar, a native of Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu, and their two children in a rented flat at Sri Lakshmi Apartments in Dhatu Nagar, near Jillelaguda.
Rajkumar had previously worked as an assistant professor at an engineering college and had borrowed money from several people, police said.