Chittoor Court Sentences Five to Death for 2015 Double Murder

On October 31, 2025, the Chittoor district court delivered a historic verdict, sentencing five individuals to death for the 2015 murders of former mayor Katari Anuradha and her husband Katari Mohan. The brutal killings, which occurred inside the Chittoor municipal corporation office, were described by the judge as a "rarest of rare" case.

The five accused, including Katari Mohan's nephew S Chandrasekhar alias Chintu, were found guilty of meticulously planning and executing the double homicide a decade ago. According to the court's findings, a group of men disguised in burqas entered the municipal office in November 2015 and shot Anuradha dead inside her chambers. They then pursued and stabbed her husband Mohan to death.

The decade-long trial revealed that family disputes were the primary motive behind the shocking murders that shook the Chittoor community. While 28 individuals were initially named in the chargesheet, one was discharged, and another died during the proceedings.

The Chittoor police imposed Section 144 in the town ahead of the highly anticipated judgment, underscoring the gravity of the case. The court's decision to hand down the rare death sentence has sent a strong message about the severity of the crimes committed a decade ago.