A billionaire from Andhra Pradesh, Jayaram Chigurupati, was killed by a loan lender, Rakesh Reddy, who pretended to be a woman on WhatsApp. The investigation has also revealed that senior police officers, including an ACP and SHO, were also a part of Reddy's conspiracy.
Jayaram's body was found on Nandiagama-Hyderabad Highway on February 1. The Andhra Pradesh Police have now revealed that the businessman owed nearly Rs 4 crore to Reddy and had fled to the US over non-payment of loans.
However, Reddy planned to retrieve the money from Jayaram by texting him on WhatsApp and pretending to be a woman. Reddy even honey-trapped the businessman to come to Hyderabad and meet him.
Jayaram used to frequently visit India as he was running many companies, including a bankrupt local media house. On getting a hint about Jayaram's India visit, he invited the businessman to come over to his house in Hyderabad, according to the police officials.
Reddy then pressurised Jayaram to repay his loans, but the latter could only manage Rs 6 lakhs , which did not go down well with the former. He eventually killed the businessman with the help of an accomplice, the police sources told the Hindustan Times.
The two Telangana Police officials helped Reddy transfer the body of Jayaram from Hyderabad to Nandiagama, where he was supposed to go. The police have retrieved CCTV footage of various toll gates on the highway and beer bottles seen in the hands of the accused were also found in Jayaram's car which helped crack the case.
The billionaire pharma entrepreneur who went bankrupt
Jayaram Chigurupati is a known face in the Indian pharma industry as he helped many companies such as Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Ranbaxy to manufacture bio-similars (drugs produced from living cells). He went on to set up his companies across various sectors such as entertainment, real estate and pharma.
However, Jayaram soon suffered huge losses and failed to pay the salaries of hundreds of employees. Two of his employees reportedly committed suicide while many protested against the businessman. He was often spotted in Florida, the US, where he had spent the initial years of his academic and professional life.
