Vizag photographer murdered for camera

Visakhapatnam, March 3: A 23-year-old professional photographer from Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam was murdered by two men for his camera, police said on Sunday.

After calling the victim, P. Sai Pawan Kalyan, on the pretext of a photo shoot, the accused killed him and looted his camera and other equipment.

The shocking incident occurred on February 26 near Ravulapalem in Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district and the accused had buried the photographer’s body at Mulasthanam in the same district.

The Visakhapatnam police, which had taken up the investigation on February 29 after Kalyan’s parents had lodged a missing complaint, cracked the case on Sunday and exhumed the body after the accused were taken to the place where they had buried it.

According to police, Kalyan, a resident of Madhurawada in Visakhapatnam, used to eke out a living through photography, taking photos and videos at weddings and other events. He was taking bookings online and visiting remote places for the assignments.

Main accused Shanmukh called him for a photo shoot to Ravulapalem, and Kalyan left on February 26 with his camera and other equipment. After reaching Rajamahendravaram railway station, he was picked up by Shanmukh and his friend in a car.

As per their plan, they attacked him near Ravulapalem and strangled him to death. They later buried the body at a deserted place and took away his camera and other equipment.

When Kalyan did not return even after three days and his mobile was not reachable, his parents lodged a complaint with PM Palem police station in Visakhapatnam. Based on the call data, police picked up Shanmukh for questioning. He confessed to committing the crime with the help of a friend for the sake of Kalyan's camera, said to be valued at Rs 10 lakh.