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TIRUPATI: Andhra Pradesh police have arrested a 50-year-old woman for allegedly hiring hitmen to kill her elder son after months of friction over money and property, investigators said Tuesday. Shyamala allegedly agreed to pay Rs 6 lakh to a local supari gang, claiming her 22-year-old son, Jayaprakash Reddy, had been harassing her financially. Jayaprakash, an MBA student at Angallu near Madanapalle in Annamayya district, had recently slipped into alcohol addiction and was allegedly demanding money frequently, police inspector Gopal Reddy said. Unable to cope, Shyamala allegedly turned to Mahesh, a farm labourer familiar with the family, and offered Rs 50,000 as advance for the killing. Jayaprakash’s body was found on November 7 near a liquor shop close to Gollapalli along Mumbai-Chennai NH. What began as a suspicious death shifted quickly once forensic teams and a dog squad were deployed, eventually leading to identification of the victim. “A phone call from Mahesh’s mobile to Shyamala became a key lead,” Reddy said. Mahesh had allegedly drawn in several others to execute the plan. Shyamala, Mahesh, and six alleged accomplices have been arrested.
