Khammam police have arrested four individuals in connection with the murder of YouTuber and author Boggula Srinivas, whose body was recovered from a car in the Palair Reservoir earlier this month.
According to Khammam Rural ACP Tirupathi Reddy, the killing stemmed from a financial dispute between Srinivas and his friend Mekala Venu Madhava Reddy.
Police said Srinivas and Madhava Reddy were involved in a GST fraud of around Rs 90 lakh using the GST licence of ‘BOGGULA BBQ,’ owned by the deceased. The profits were meant to be shared equally, but Madhava Reddy allegedly paid only Rs 15 lakh, promising the remaining Rs 30 lakh later.
When Srinivas’ GST licence was cancelled and penalty notices issued, he reportedly demanded the pending Rs 30 lakh and sought settlement of a Rs 1 crore penalty to reactivate the licence. This dispute escalated tensions between the two.
Investigators allege Madhava Reddy conspired with Pokala Koteswara Rao, Shaik Abdul Hafeez, and Mohammed Azmathali Khan to kill Srinivas, paying Rs 5 lakh as “supari” to execute the crime.
Srinivas was reportedly taken on the night of February 13 to Vijayawada under the pretext of settling dues. In the early hours of the next day, he was allegedly killed between Nakrekal and Jangaon using knives and iron rods. To disguise the murder as an accident, the accused pushed the car, with his body inside, into the Palair Reservoir.
The Kusumanchi police station registered a case under Sections 103 (murder), 61 (criminal conspiracy), and 238 (tampering with evidence) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The accused have confessed during interrogation.
Srinivas first gained prominence in 2014 after publishing the controversial book ‘Pawan Kalyan Hatao – Politics Bachavo,’ which sparked major debate and reportedly led to threats. Originally from Alluru village, Nandikotkur mandal, Nandyal district, he was residing in Hyderabad at the time of his death.
