Five arrested in Ponnur MLA’s family house burglary

Vijayawada: In a swift breakthrough, Guntur district police arrested five people within a week in connection with a high-value burglary at the residence of Ponnuru MLA Dhulipalla Narendra Kumar's mother in Chintalapudi village, under Ponnur rural police station limits.The burglary occurred in the early hours of Feb 16 when unidentified persons broke into the locked house of Dhulipalla Pramila Devi. The accused allegedly broke open an iron safe inside the house and decamped with 336 gm of gold, 10.5 kg of silver, and ₹1 lakh in cash. The total value of the stolen property was estimated at ₹69.25 lakh.Based on a complaint, Ponnur police registered a case and launched an intensive investigation. CCTV footage from surrounding areas, fingerprint analysis, call data records (CDR), and mobile tower location tracking played a crucial role in identifying the suspects.Police arrested Sattenapalli Rakesh (25), a habitual offender with over 34 prior theft cases, along with Kokkiligadda Asirvadam, Jalli Dain Kumar alias Ashish, Nakka Durga Prasad, and Gudipudi Raghu. Two other suspects are absconding.Investigators revealed that the prime accused surveyed the locked house during the day and returned between 1.30 am and 2.30 am in a stolen Tata Indica car to execute the theft. The gang allegedly targeted locked houses at night and sold stolen valuables to fund their vices.Police recovered gold items, several silver articles, including partially melted silver, the stolen cash, a Duke motorcycle, and the car used in the crime.Addressing the media, Guntur SP Vakul Jindal commended the investigation team for cracking the case within a week and announced commendation certificates for the officers involved.