A woman accused of murdering her husband with the help of her paramour in 2022 was arrested by the Bheemunipatnam police in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on October 9, 2026. A special team from the Visakhapatnam City police travelled to the remote Swaraj Dweep to track down and apprehend the absconding duo, who had allegedly assumed false identities to evade the law.
The arrested were identified as V. Nookaraju, a resident of Vasuvanipalem, and V. Jyothi (26), a resident of Bheemunipatnam mandal. The duo had reportedly fled after non-bailable warrants (NBWs) were issued against them for repeatedly failing to appear before the court.
Addressing a press conference at the Police Conference Hall in the city on Sunday (October 11), Deputy Commissioner of Police Ch. Manikanta Chandolu said that on December 22, 2022, Jyothi, with the support of her alleged paramour V. Nookaraju, murdered her husband Paidiraju by mixing sedative tablets into his food. Nookaraju and another accused, K. Bholoka, subsequently arrived at Jyothi’s house and allegedly strangulated her husband, resulting in his death. Nookaraju and Bhooloka allegedly transported the body to Nookaraju’s room at Visalakshi Nagar. The next day, the duo shifted the body in a private ambulance to a cremation ground at Pedawaltair and cremated the body.
On December 30, Jyothi lodged a complaint with the Bheemunipatnam police stating that her husband was missing. During the investigation, Paidiraju’s family expressed suspicion about Jyothi’s behaviour. On January 12, 2023, police took Nookaraju and Jyothi into custody, and the third accused, Bhooloka, was also subsequently arrested.
Based on the findings, the case was altered to murder, and all three accused were produced before the court. However, Nookaraju and Jyothi allegedly stopped appearing before the court, fearing that they could be sentenced to life imprisonment. This led the court to issue non-bailable warrants against them.
The two accused switched off their mobile phones and left their residences to evade arrest. They reportedly travelled to Chennai and later reached the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by boat. From there, they allegedly travelled by boat to Swaraj Dweep, where they had been living under different identities using forged Aadhaar cards.
Following directions from Commissioner of Police Shanka Brata Bagchi, Bheemunipatnam Police Station Inspector G. Diwakar Yadav led a team to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and arrested the accused on October 9.
The police also found that Jyothi had two children. After their arrest, the accused were produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Port Blair, where the police obtained a transit warrant to bring them to Visakhapatnam.
In a humanitarian measure, Mr. Shanka Brata Bagchi facilitated the return of Jyothi’s two children along with the accused by air to Visakhapatnam. The children were handed over safely to their relatives. The arrested accused are yet to be produced before the court in Visakhapatnam, the police said.
Published – October 11, 2026 07:56 pm IST
