Andhra Woman, Lover Arrested Days After Killing Husband With Poisoned Biryani

In a chilling case of premeditated murder, a woman, her lover, and his friend have been arrested, days after allegedly killing her husband by feeding him poisoned biryani and smothering him.

The incident occurred on the night of January 18.

The victim was identified as Lokam Sivanagaraju, a resident of Lokamvari Veedhi. His wife, Lokam Lakshmi Madhuri, murdered him as he was opposing her extramarital relationship, officials said.

According to District Superintendent of Police Vakul Jindal, the accused carefully planned the crime. Lakshmi Madhuri cooked biryani for her husband and allegedly mixed nearly 20 sleeping pills into his food, causing him to fall into a deep, drug-induced sleep. The sedatives were reportedly procured by Kambhampati Suresh of Erraguntlapadu village in Firangipuram mandal, who handed them over to Lakshmi Madhuri through her lover, Lakkaraju, a resident of Garlapadu village in Sattenapalli mandal.

"Once Sivanagaraju lost consciousness, Lakshmi Madhuri and her lover allegedly assaulted him. The victim was struck on the chest with a wooden rolling pin used for making papads, resulting in rib fractures," SP said, adding that the victim was then smothered to death, leading to asphyxiation.

"The accused initially attempted to project the death as a natural cardiac arrest," he added.

However, suspicions raised by Sivanagaraju's family members prompted police to register a case and launch an investigation.

A post-mortem examination revealed internal injuries and signs of violent assault, confirming that it was a case of homicide and not natural death.

During the investigation, police identified the three accused and took them into custody. During interrogation, all three reportedly confessed to their roles in the murder.

During the investigation, police also recovered four mobile phones, three empty strips of sedative tablets, one full strip of sleeping pills, an iron rod, an appadala karrra (rolling pin), a Bullet motorcycle, and an Indica Vista car from the accused.

All three accused have been remanded to judicial custody.