A man was murdered just weeks after his wedding in Telangana’s Jogulamba Gadwal district, police said on Thursday. His 23-year-old wife, Aishwarya, and her 35-year-old lover, Tirumala Rao, have been arrested along with six others for their alleged involvement in the crime.
The victim, 32-year-old Ganta Tejeshwar, was a private land surveyor and dance teacher from Rajaveedhinagar in Gadwal town. He went missing on the morning of June 17 after leaving home, and his brother lodged a police complaint the following day.
During the investigation, Police found a CCTV footage that showed Tejeshwar leaving in a car with people known to him. Four days later, on June 21, his body was discovered near Panyam town in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district.
How the murder was planned
Despite being engaged to Tejeshwar in December 2024, Aishwarya continued her relationship with Tirumala. However, sustaining the relationship became difficult after marriage. “As a result, they both planned to kill Tejeshwar by hiring contract killers,” the SP said.
To execute the plan, Rao approached Kummari Nagesh, a commission agent, and shared Tejeshwar’s phone number, asking him to befriend and “eventually eliminate him.” A GPS tracker was also provided to Nagesh and his associate, which they secretly attached to Tejeshwar’s bike to monitor his movements.
On June 17, Nagesh and two aides lured Tejeshwar to Kurnool under the pretext of a land survey. On the return trip, between Erravalli and Gadwal, they killed him inside the vehicle—bludgeoning his head, slitting his throat, and stabbing him in the stomach.
“Later, Tirumala Rao, who reached there, directed them to take an off-route highway into Kurnool and dispose of the body near the HNSS canal, which is a secluded place,” the SP said. The killers changed their clothes en route and threw Tejeshwar’s mobile phone and belongings into a canal.
Rao allegedly paid the contract killers ₹1 lakh as advance on the day of the murder and another ₹2 lakh on June 20.
All eight accused are currently in custody, and further investigation is underway.
Accused Rao dated Aishwarya’s mother before her
District Superintendent of Police T Srinivasa Rao identified the lover Tirumala Rao as the main accused in the case. Tirumala, who worked as a manager at a housing finance company in Kurnool was in a relationship with a sweeper at his office, Sujata. However, over time, he became involved with her daughter, Aishwarya, and promised to marry her. But everything didn’t go as planned.
Police revealed that victim’s wife Aishwarya had been pressured by her mother and family into marrying Tejeshwar on May 18.
“Aishwarya wanted to get rid of Tejeshwar so that she could marry Tirumala Rao,” the SP said. The couple had even planned to flee to Ladakh after the murder.
