Police Stop Funeral After Wife Suspected in Gulf Returnee’s Death

Karimnagar: Tension rose in Rajannapet village in Yellareddypet mandal of Rajanna Sircilla district on Saturday after police intervened in a funeral procession and seized the body of a 58-year-old man for autopsy.

The deceased was identified as Erpula Narsaiah, a Gulf immigrant who returned to her native village about a month ago to attend her son’s wedding. He was found dead on Friday night. His wife, Vajravva, first informed the villagers and relatives that he had died of a sudden heart attack.

However, as the funeral procession was heading towards the cremation ground, villagers noticed suspicious dark marks on Narsaiah’s neck and visible injuries on his body. Suspecting foul play, they informed the Yellareddypet police.

Sub-inspector Rahul Reddy and his team rushed to the spot, stopped the procession and shifted the body to a local hospital for post-mortem.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Narsaiah allegedly caught his wife with another man from Kancharla village when she returned home from the fields on Friday evening. A confrontation reportedly ensued, during which the two allegedly strangled her to death using a rope tied to a ceiling beam.

Police alleged that Vajravva tried to make the death look natural to cover up the crime. He was detained for further questioning.

A case of suspicious death has been registered and is likely to be changed to murder after the final autopsy report. Narsaiah is survived by two sons and a daughter.