The Eighth Additional District and Sessions judge awarded life imprisonment to the main accused, Vellanki Simhadri alias Shiva, and ten-year Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) to another accused, Shaik Aminullah Babu alias Babu, in the serial ‘prasadam’ killing cases reported in 2019.
Simhadri, a native of Eluru and Aminullah of Vijayawada killed ten persons of Nuzvid, Rajamahendravaram, Eluru, Gannavaram and Agiripalli by offering ‘prasadams’, said Eluru District Superintendent of Police K. Pratap Shiva Kishore.
Simhadri would introduce himself to the victims as a realtor or a dealer of ‘rice pulling coins’ and gemstones. After collecting huge amounts, he would offer ‘prasadam’ laced with cyanide (collected from Aminullah).
“In nine cases, the family members of the victims believed that the deaths had occurred due to cardiac arrest. But, when Simhadri killed Kati Nagaraju, a physical education teacher, his family members expressed doubt and lodged a complaint at Eluru Three Town police station. Autopsy report revealed that Nagaraju was killed by cyanide,” the SP told The Hindu on Saturday.
Eluru district Additional SP N. Suryachandra Rao, then Eluru Deputy SP O. Dileep Kiran, court monitoring cell inspector M. Subba Rao and other officers arrested the accused, who confessed to the crimes during questioning.
The accused befriended the victims, saying that they could become rich if they bought ‘rice pulling coins’ and ‘lucky gemstones’. He collected ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh, said Eluru Deputy SP D. Sravan Kumar.
“Out of ten victims, three are women. The court awarded the punishment on Friday,” Mr. Pratap Shiva Kishore said.
Published – January 25, 2026 09:18 am IST
