Honey traps, extortion, fake IDs: Probe into Telangana man’s murder reveals wife’s mind-boggling life of lies and crime

Ramesh Kumar was allegedly strangled successful his Maruti car successful Uppal adjacent Hyderabad connected October 1 by Ankur Rana and Panthalu Niharika. The execution crippled was allegedly hatched by Niharika to laic her hands connected documents to a spot worthy Rs 8 crore successful Telangana which her 3rd hubby had reportedly sold and not shared with her.

Kumar’s assemblage was transported implicit a region of 850 km from Hyderabad to Suntikoppa successful the elevation territory of Kodagu, Karnataka by the trio successful a Mercedes Benz GLA 2022 car loaned to the Telangana businessman by a friend, Kanchaty Srihari of Hyderabad.

The assemblage was moved to a pit successful a java property located by the roadside successful Suntikoppa a small aft midnight — 3 days aft the execution — and acceptable aflame to forestall identification. On October 8, the body, with the look astir wholly burnt, and a footwear was recovered by workers astatine the 50-acre Pannya estate.

The Kodagu constabulary cracked the lawsuit of the unidentified assemblage aft astir 12 days of investigations by analysing CCTV footage from implicit 500 cameras which led to the recognition of the Mercedes Benz.

Later, method investigation of the missing businessman’s telephone records led the Kodagu constabulary to Niharika and her fellow Mai Reddy Nikhil and aboriginal to Ankur Rana successful Haridwar, Uttarakhand wherever helium had gone to enactment arsenic a operator aft executing the execution astatine the behest of Niharika.

The sensational execution lawsuit took an further crook aft Ankur Rana escaped from the custody of Kodagu constabulary successful Hyderabad connected October 31 earlier helium was tracked down again to Jaipur successful Rajasthan connected November 5 done the combined efforts of constabulary from aggregate states.

Panthalu Niharika and her treacherous past

Investigations into the execution lawsuit soon unravelled Niharika’s transgression past connected the ground of which she has been described arsenic “dangerous” by the police.

The constabulary recovered that Niharika is nether proceedings successful a lawsuit successful Karnal, Haryana wherever she is accused of cheating her 2nd hubby Kamaldeep Saini, a bundle engineer, of implicit Rs 70 lakh aft she joined him claiming to beryllium a bundle engineer.

According to the lawsuit registered against Niharika by Saini, she befriended him connected the “Meet4U” dating app and claimed to beryllium employed with 1 of the starring IT companies successful India. She allegedly told Saini a sob communicative of a household calamity to suggest matrimony aft which the mates reportedly wedded connected June 22, 2019 and began surviving unneurotic successful Bengaluru.

During the marriage, Niharika allegedly claimed to person a superior unwellness and extracted lakhs of rupees from Saini for treatment. She besides brought on a young miss who she claimed was her niece, says the lawsuit filed by the bundle engineer.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the mates moved to Saini’s location successful Karnal successful 2020-2021 wherever Niharika’s demands for funds accrued and helium discovered that she was antecedently joined to a antheral called Panthalu Anantharam successful Telangana and the young miss was her daughter.

Saini alleged successful his cheating ailment filed successful Haryana successful January 2021 that the existent representation emerged erstwhile helium looked astatine her laptop 1 day. According to the constabulary lawsuit successful Karnal, wherever Niharika was arrested connected February 4, 2021, Niharika had 2 identities with antithetic commencement dates and had forged acquisition qualification certificates. Saini besides claimed to person recovered incriminating pictures of her with different men and details of chats which indicated that she had extorted wealth from respective people.

In 2017, Niharika was besides incidentally accused successful a lawsuit successful Bengaluru wherever she was arrested for luring a bundle technologist with intersexual favours earlier attempting to extort funds from him. She was allegedly portion of a pack progressive successful honey-trapping bundle engineers.

She was, however, acquitted successful the lawsuit on with 8 others successful 2019. The lawsuit records uncover that Niharika, who was surviving successful a paying impermanent installation successful Bengaluru, had claimed to beryllium joined to Telangana-based Panthalu Anantharam astatine the time.

“The idiosyncratic arrested successful 2017 successful a lawsuit successful Bengaluru has the aforesaid credentials arsenic the Niharika arrested successful the Kodagu execution case,” constabulary sources said.

Ankur Rana’s involvement

During her imprisonment successful Karnal, from February 2021 to December 2021, Niharika met Ankur Rana – the 2nd accused successful the Ramesh Kumar execution lawsuit – constabulary sources said. Rana’s parent Santhoshi was lodged successful the aforesaid situation successful an atrocity case, they added.

“They got acquainted erstwhile Rana utilized to sojourn his parent successful jail. They continued the relation aft she was released from jail,” constabulary sources revealed.

“In the past 2 years, Ankur Rana was successful Bengaluru for astir 2 months connected Niharika’s invitation,” sources said. He had worked concisely arsenic a operator successful Bengaluru earlier returning to Haridwar until helium was summoned by her to Hyderabad for the October 1 murder.

The constabulary are investigating whether Ankur Rana has a transgression past arsenic well. His woman had died successful a occurrence successful Haridwar aft which his Rana’s in-laws accused him of sidesplitting her. However, determination is nary confirmation connected whether Rana played a relation successful the death, sources said. Meanwhile, helium was besides linked to a mates of conveyance theft cases successful the Uttar Pradesh region, sources revealed.

Following her merchandise connected bail successful the cheating lawsuit successful Haryana successful 2021, Niharika did not look earlier the Karnal tribunal for its proceedings for implicit 2 years until the tribunal issued a non-bailable warrant for her apprehension successful May 2024 which resulted successful her quality successful July that year. She was past arrested again earlier being released up of an August 2024 proceedings date.

Veterinarian Nikhil’s role

After she returned to Bengaluru from Karnal, Niharika befriended the veterinarian Mai Reddy Nikhil, who is the 3rd accused successful the Telangana businessman’s murder. She was surviving with Nikhil and looking aft the pets successful his clinic, the constabulary indicated.

On November 16, a territory tribunal successful Kodagu granted bail to Nikhil, who is primitively from Cuddapah successful Andhra Pradesh, successful the Ramesh Kumar execution lawsuit by citing that helium had lone played a relation successful the demolition of grounds and did not person a nonstop relation successful the execution connected relationship of which helium faces lone a maximum jailhouse word of 7 years.

“As per the communicative of the prosecution itself, the relation of this Petitioner starts aft the execution and Public Prosecutor successful his objections intelligibly stated successful para-5 that, determination is an allegation against the execution with respect to the accused No.1 and 2 and accused No.3 has helped them successful bid to destruct the dormant body…,” the territory tribunal said portion granting bail to Nikhil.

In the people of the execution probe, the constabulary recovered that Niharika met the businessman Ramesh Kumar during a travel connected a Metro train. He reportedly near his archetypal woman to wed Niharika successful a registered marriage.

The constabulary said she knew Kumar owned properties and was targeting his wealth. Following the execution connected October 1 adjacent Hyderabad, Niharika allegedly went to Kumar’s location and collected a ample fig of documents successful bid to find onshore deeds.

In a bid to propulsion the investigators disconnected her trail, she sent a connection to Kumar’s telephone – which was successful her possession – soon aft the murder, stating that she was returning to Bengaluru to beryllium with her daughter. She abandoned the deceased man’s telephone successful Karnataka aft disposing of his assemblage successful Kodagu believing that it would screen her tracks, sources said.