'Dumped body in manhole, sealed it with red soil': Hyderabad priest gets life for killing aspiring actor Kuruganti Apsara

HYDERABAD: The Rangareddy district court Wednesday sentenced a priest to life imprisonment for the murder of an aspiring TV actress in June 2023. The convict, Iyyagari Venkata Sai Krishna, had killed Kuruganti Apsara, dumped her body in a defunct manhole and later sealed it with red soil and cement.

The court also fined the convict Rs 10 lakh, directing him to pay Rs 9.75 lakh to the victim's family and Rs 25,000 to the court.

Investigation revealed that Sai Krishna killed Apsara as the latter was pressuring him for marriage. "Though the priest already had a wife, he had promised to marry the victim. She had insisted that he honour the commitment," said an investigator.

According to cops, Apsara's mother would frequent the temple where the accused was a priest. Through her, Sai Krishna got acquainted with the victim. The two formed a relationship in early 2023.

On the day of the murder, Sai Krishna took Apsara to Shamshabad on the pretext of dropping her off at the airport for a trip to Coimbatore with her friends. Instead, he took her to a construction site and bludgeoned her to death, police said.

After returning home in Saroornagar, the convict left the car in his parking slot for two days with the body in the boot. He sprayed room fresheners every day to prevent the odour. Later, he dumped the body in a septic tank in a govt office complex near his house, filled the area with sand, and sealed it with cement, police said.

"He then went to the local police station and filed a missing person's complaint, referring to the victim's mother as his sister and said that his niece had gone missing," said an official.

The cops zeroed in on Sai Krishna when the circumstantial evidence in the case, linking all events from the time the victim left home and till her decomposed body was recovered from the septic tank, led them to him.

"The court examined the evidence and pronounced him guilty of murder," said additional public prosecutor V Ravi Kumar.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• The Rangareddy district court sentenced priest Iyyagari Venkata Sai Krishna to life imprisonment for the murder of aspiring TV actress Kuruganti Apsara in June 2023.
• The convict was fined Rs 10 lakh, with Rs 9.75 lakh directed to the victim's family and Rs 25,000 to the court.
• Sai Krishna killed Apsara as she was pressuring him for marriage, despite him already being married.
• After the murder, he kept the body in his car boot for two days, sprayed room fresheners to mask the odour, and later dumped it in a defunct manhole, sealing it with sand and cement.
• The police cracked the case by tracing circumstantial evidence, linking the events from the victim's disappearance to the recovery of her decomposed body.