Woman approaches NGO for aid, receives body with extortion note

At Yendagandi village, Undi mandal, a woman, R Naga Tulasi, alerted police at 10 pm about an unidentified corpse. Authorities rushed to investigate.

A poor woman who sought help from a non governmental organisation in the form of electrical appliances for a house she was constructing on site she received under a government scheme, claims that she instead received a corpse and a note demanding ₹1.3 crore.

The police also recovered a hand-written letter demanding that she pay ₹1.3 crore, threatening her family with serious consequences if the demand was not met. (Pic used for representation)

The incident was reported from the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh late on Thursday.

It happened at Yendagandi village of Undi mandal (block) in the district at around 10pm. The woman, identified as R Naga Tulasi, immediately alerted the police, who rushed to the spot to begin the investigation. The corpse is, as yet, unidentified.

District superintendent of police Adnan Nayeem Asmi, who visited the village on Friday, said the woman is constructing a house in a piece of land given by the government, close to her present rented house.

She approached Kshatriya Seva Samithi, a non-governmental organisation in Rajahmundry in East Godavari district, for assistance.

“A few days ago, Tulasi received some boxes of floor tiles from the NGO. Later, she sent another request seeking electrical appliances for the house. On Tuesday, she received a message on her mobile phone stating that she would be supplied with some electrical appliances including lights, fans and switches shortly,” the SP said.

Late on Thursday night, a person arrived at the building site and delivered a wooden box that he said contained the electrical appliances.

“When Tulasi opened the parcel, she said she was shocked to find the body of a person wrapped in a plastic sheet, along with some electrical wires and other electrical equipment. She panicked and alerted her family members, who in turn informed the Undi police,” Asmi said.

The police also recovered a hand-written letter demanding that she pay ₹1.3 crore, threatening her family with serious consequences if the demand was not met. It stated that an unpaid loan of ₹3 lakh taken by her missing husband Srinivasa Rao in 2008 has accrued interest.

The dead body was that of a male aged around 45 years and the police suspect he may have died 4-5 days ago.

“We have shifted the body to the government hospital at Undi for autopsy and ascertain the cause of death. We have booked a case of suspicious death ,” the SP said.

Asmi said the police were questioning representatives of the NGO which supplied the materials to Tulasi and also claimed that Tulasi’s family appears to be holding back some information. “We are looking into the possibility of any disputes within the family,” the SP said.

Tulasi, the police said, has been staying with her parents after her husband disappeared 11 years ago.