Life imprisonment for Telangana’s serial killer who murdered 17 women

Hyderabad: A serial killer, who murdered 17 women, has been awarded life imprisonment by a court in Telangana’s Jogulamba-Gadwal district.

Yerukali Srinu (47), who used to target women after befriending them at toddy shops, was awarded the sentence in one of the murder cases.

Third Additional District Magistrate held him guilty and on Thursday sentenced him to life imprisonment for the murder of Chitti Alivelamma (53).

The serial killer was arrested in 2019 in Alivelamma’s murder case. The investigations revealed that he killed 16 other women in the last one decade. Srinu’s wife Salamma was also arrested for stocking the stolen property.

Srinu, addicted to liquor, would befriend women who come to toddy shops to drink, would take them out to isolated places in the name of picnic and after drinking with them would kill them and decamp with their gold and silver ornaments.

Srinu, who had also murdered his own brother, was finally caught when police cracked the murder case of Alivelamma, whose body was found on December 17, 2019 near a village in Mahabubnagar district

The police investigations had revealed that the accused targetted lone women at toddy shops at various places in Rangareddy and Mahabubnagar districts.

Srinu was convicted and jailed in a few criminal cases. In 2009, he was sentenced for life for killing his brother but was given remission in 2013 for good conduct in jail. However, there was no change in him. After the last time he was released from jail in 2018, authorities had provided him a job at a petrol bunk run by the prison department with the hope that he would mend his ways. However, he continued to indulge in drinking and commit crimes.

He was acquitted in 11 cases. In two of the cases, he was acquitted recently. Police have appealed against his acquittal.