The series of killings of women by some miscreants for gain is giving sleepless nights to the police in the city.
Four such incidents were reported in the last 40 days and the offenders targeted are women living alone.
In three cases, the accused killed the women by smothering or strangulating them to death and escaped with jewellery.
Commissioner of Police N. Madhusudhan Reddy directed the investigation officers to form special teams and speed up the investigation of the cases.
The Station House Officers (SHOs) were instructed to sensitise the residents on prevention of crimes by distributing pamphlets.
‘Asphyxiated'
On January 6, M. Saraswathi (45), an accountant in State Bank of Hyderabad, Moghalrajpuram, was allegedly done to death at her residence at Pipula Road in Singh Nagar.
According to the preliminary post-mortem report, Saraswathi was asphyxiated to death and the investigation in the case is pending with Nunna police.
Eighty-year-old Koduru Seetaratnam was murdered at her residence at Seetarampuram on January 22, and the gold ornaments were missing from the body.
The octogenarian was staying alone in her own house and rented two other portions for carpentry work.
The Suryaraopet police who tracked down the movements of a worker K. Sambasiva Rao alias Shiva, who worked for some time in the carpentry shop, and his accomplice Riyaz, took them into custody, who confessed to have committed the crime for gain.
Tenants flee
On February 12, Vemuri Chandramma (75), who was staying alone at Pandaripuram in a three-portion house was found murdered under Patamata police station limits. The tenants who were staying in the victim's house fled the scene before the murder.
A woman, Swapna, aged about 30 years, died under suspicious circumstances at her residence in Indira Nagar on February 15.
“She was staying alone at home and no external injuries were found on the body. We are waiting for post-mortem report,” said the Penamaluru police.
Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday, Central Zone ACP P. Satyanarayana Rao who was monitoring the investigation of Saraswathi's case said the police generated the phone call details of the victim and questioned more than 100 persons so far.
“In Chandramma's killing, we are trying to trace the tenants and the police are trying to collect the details of incoming and out going calls to her phone,” said Mr. Rao.
