Hans News Service Rajamahendravaram

A 36-year-old woman, who went missing after leaving work, is feared to have been pushed into Godavari River by an auto-rickshaw driver after he allegedly snatched her gold ornaments. The incident came to light after police examined CCTV footage and traced the auto in which she had travelled.

According to police and local sources, the woman, Vinte Adilakshmi is a widow. She married Sattibabu of Bheemolu village in Gopalapuram mandal about 20 years ago.

Her husband died of snakebite seven years ago and she had since been living with her parents at Kothapattiseema. Her daughter is employed in a private company in Hyderabad. Adilakshmi had been working at a sweet shop in Tallapudi of East Godavari for the past one year. Some other residents of her village were also employed at the same shop and used buses and autos for their daily commute.

As usual, Adilakshmi went to the sweet shop on Monday. However, she did not return home even late in the evening. Her family members contacted her co-workers and made enquiries, but could not trace her. Her brother Satyanarayana Murthy approached Tallapudi police on Tuesday and lodged a complaint.

Police registered a missing person case, SI Ramakrishna said. During the investigation, police examined CCTV footage from the areas surrounding the sweet shop under the supervision of Kovvur Rural CI Vijay Babu. The footage reportedly showed Adilakshmi boarding an auto alone on Monday night. Based on the CCTV footage, police took the auto driver into custody and began questioning him. During the investigation, it reportedly emerged that while taking Adilakshmi from Tallapudi towards Kothapattiseema, the driver allegedly snatched around 30 grams of gold ornaments from her neck and pushed her into the river.

Police have launched a search operation in the river to trace the woman.