Hyderabad:
The police are suspecting the hand of watchman Satyanarayana behind the murder of National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) senior scientist Modugula Narayana Reddy (48) at a house under construction at Maitripuram on Thursday night.
It is also suspected that the killer might have robbed the scientist of Rs 80,000. Preliminary inquiry revealed that Narayana Reddy went to the house of his daughter, which is under construction around 7 pm on the vehicle of a student of NAARM.
Narayana Reddy called up his wife Sarada and informed her about the work progress. He also told her that he would return home in the auto of Satyanarayana.
According to sources, the watchman was expecting to get a room for his family to live on the premises of the new house. When Narayana Reddy refused to allot the room for him, he might have entered into a heated argument, a police official said, adding that the watchman might have inflicted injuries on himself to mislead the investigation officer that he was also attacked by the assailants, after slitting the throat of scientist. The watchman was taken into custody for questioning.
The police are also probing the case from a land dispute angle. The scientist, who owned land in the same locality, put it for sale. He struck a deal with a prospective buyer. Later, Narayana Reddy backed out. It might be another reason for the murder of the scientist, the police official said.