New Delhi: On the afternoon of 17 November 2015, what began as an ordinary day at the mayor’s office in Chittoor turned into a crime scene that haunted the town for the next decade. Chittoor Mayor Katari Anuradha and her husband, K Mohan, were gunned down and stabbed to death inside the Municipal Corporation office, not by strangers, but by people linked to their own family.
A decade later, on 31 October, a court in Andhra Pradesh has called it a “rarest of rare” case, awarding the death sentence to five people and bringing closure to a murder that blurred the lines between family feud, political resentment, and greed over the spoils of sand and granite mining.
The fateful day: 10 years ago
It was a usual morning at the Chittoor Municipal Corporation. Mayor Katari Anuradha, a two-time councillor and a prominent face of the Telugu Desam Party, entered her chamber. Her husband, K Mohan, also a senior party leader, was in the office adjoining hers.
Then suddenly mid-morning, chaos broke out. Five to six burqa-clad men barged into Anuradha’s chamber, carrying knives, daggers, and a revolver. Even before anyone could react, they stabbed her multiple times. Shots were also reportedly fired at close range.
Anuradha was killed on the spot. Her husband, who rushed in after hearing the commotion, was chased and brutally attacked before the assailants fled. Mohan succumbed to his injuries later that day.
The murder sent shock waves through Chittoor, a town known for its factional rivalries and local power struggles. TV channels looped in images of the dead couple smiling and garlanded in front of a temple, while others showed their bodies being transported from the office.
The motive was not a mystery for long. It was soon dubbed as an “act of revenge”. The mayor’s nephew, Sriram Chandrasekhar Reddy alias Chintu, was quickly pegged as the main suspect.
The arrests
The murders, carried out inside a government office in broad daylight, shocked Andhra Pradesh. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the culprits would be caught, “however influential they are.”
Police moved quickly. Within a week, on 23 November 2015, they arrested three men — Venkatachalapathi, Jaiprakash Reddy and Manjunath — believed to be part of the plot. Investigators also recovered key evidence including a burqa, a .22-calibre revolver and 16 bullets used in the attack, Deccan Chronicle reported.
Chintu, the chief accused in the murder, absconded for a couple of weeks, but surrendered himself before a Chittoor court on 30 November.
Then Superintendent of Police G Srinivas later explained that the men who helped Chintu had supplied weapons, serviced them and arranged transport and accommodation. All were arrested for aiding the crime, which came to be described as a “contract killing”.
The Chittoor Police initially named 23 people in the case. One died during the trial and 16 abetment accused were acquitted.
Who was Katari Anuradha? What led to the feud?
Anuradha’s political journey began in 2006 when she became councillor of the Ganganapalle ward in Chittoor municipality. She stepped in after her husband, K Mohan, was disqualified from the ward for failing to attend meetings and violating the code of conduct.
At around this time, Mohan “went underground” after being accused of plotting an attack on Congress MLA CK Jayachandra Reddy, a report by The Hindu said.
Over the years, Anuradha built her own support base in Chittoor. In 2014, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu declared her as the party’s mayoral candidate. She went on to win 36 of the 50 divisions, becoming the town’s first mayor after the TDP returned to power that year. Known for addressing local water issues, Anuradha developed a reputation for being approachable and hands-on.
But behind the scenes were souring family ties.
Anuradha’s nephew Chintu, a marine engineer and once a member of the merchant navy, had helped her during her campaign. He was also allegedly involved with Mohan in attempts to assassinate Jayachandra Reddy.
Their history together was bloody. In 2006, Indian Express reported, Karnataka Police arrested them for plotting Reddy’s murder. After getting bail, Chintu allegedly hired killers again the next year and two people were shot dead, though Reddy escaped. Then, a landmine blast tore through his convoy, killing a police constable. Mohan was subsequently nabbed in 2008. Upon being released on bail, they proceeded with mutual business interests, including granite.
However, problems reportedly started bubbling up when Chintu perceived he was being sidelined by the couple.
Once Anuradha became mayor, Chintu allegedly pushed for civic contracts for his associates and clashed with officials. Arguments over profits from the sand and granite business deepened the rift, as did his unfulfilled desire for a larger role in the TDP.
“Chintu wanted his share of the spoils after Anuradha became mayor. He wanted Katari Mohan to project him as a TDP leader… There were lots of bruised egos and financial disputes between them,” said then SP G Srinivas, quoted in a 2015 Indian Express article.
Despite growing strain, the couple stood by Chintu in November 2014, staging a dharna along with other TDP workers to protest his arrest for threatening a police officer. Almost exactly a year later, they were killed by his accomplices.
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The punishment
Nearly 10 years after the crime, the Chittoor VI Additional District Sessions Court sentenced five men, including Chintu, to death for planning and executing the murders inside the Municipal Corporation office.
The brutality and premeditated nature of the killings were factored into the verdict of what Judge N Srinivasa Rao called a “rarest of rare” case.
The court examined 122 witnesses and a large body of evidence before convicting the five men. Given the political linkages of those involved, security was tightened around the court as the verdict was delivered.
The daughter-in-law of the slain couple, Katari Hemalatha, who is the chairperson of the Chittoor Urban Development Authority, lauded the judgment.
“This verdict has strengthened our faith in the judiciary,” she said.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)