The arrested person has been identified as A. Praveen Kumar, 36, a private employee and a resident of Pochammawada in Utnoor village of Adilabad, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police, Medchal Zone, N Koti Reddy.

Reddy said Kumar met the deceased B. Sharadha while running a mobile phone shop in 2013. Later, they developed a close relationship, frequently communicating through WhatsApp and meeting in person. In 2020, Sharadha moved to Hyderabad and then started blackmailing him for money, threatening to reveal their relationship to his family and file legal charges to ruin his reputation.

Fearing these threats, Kumar paid him Rs 2 lakh a year ago. To stop her from blackmailing her, Kumar devised a plan to retrieve the compromising videos from her phone and delete it. On 23 October 2024, he traveled from Utnoor to her residence in Mallampet.

During their date, he asked her to return the videos, but she demanded more money. In a fit of rage, Kumar strangled her to death. After the incident, Kumar returned to his native place to hide. To mislead investigators, he staged a robbery by ripping off her jewellery, including a chain and earrings.

Dundigal police nabbed him at Secunderabad around 8 am on Saturday. Investigators were able to arrest Kumar only after diligent analysis of 60 CCTV footages within a 10 kilometer radius by the CAT analysis team, Reddy explained.