Notorious rowdy-sheeter Minda Venkateswara Rao (44) alias Pinamaka Venkateswara Rao alias Peddodu was arrested on the city outskirts on Friday evening by a task force team led by Two Town Inspector P. Venkateswarulu, during a special vehicle checking drive. The task force also recovered Rs. 8.18 lakh in cash and about 230 kg of ganja and a car, which did not have proper documents, in which he was travelling.
The rowdy-sheeter was allegedly involved in over 16 cases, which included murder, kidnapping, housebreaking, ganja smuggling, vehicle lifting and blackmail for money. He has cases registered under various police stations such as Krishnalanka, Suryaraopeta, One Town, Nunna, GRP, Guntur, Prakasam, West Godavari, Prakasam and Hyderabad.
Several casesHis crime network was spread across the State and cases were registered against him in various police stations not only in the districts of Krishna and Guntur but as far as West Godavari, Hyderabad and Prakasam, said Inspector Venkateswarulu.
Highlighting the important cases, the Inspector told The Hindu that the rowdy-sheeter was involved in the sensational murder of a jeweller in Bestavaripeta in Prakasam district, a murder attempt on TDP leader Katragadda Babu in 2004 under Suryaraopeta police station limits, kidnapping of a video shop owner in One Town area and demanding of ransom, blackmailing a doctor for money in Madhapur area in Hyderabad and ganja trafficking.
Minda Venkateswara Rao was an auto-rickshaw driver since 2004. He befriended petty rowdy-sheeters and he himself turned into one. The police had been on the look-out for him ever since he shot dead a jeweller in Prakasam district. The Government Railway Police too were on the lookout for him for ganja trafficking.
