Hyderabad police have arrested a serial killer who was targeting women after his wife eloped with another person.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar on Tuesday announced the arrest of Maina Ramulu, a labourer, for killing two women.

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Police found that the 45-year-old was earlier involved in 16 murders and had escaped from jail while undergoing life imprisonment in one of the cases.

The accused has been targeting women found near toddy compounds after trapping them by offering money for sex. He used to murder them and snatch valuables found on them.

A resident of Borabanda in Hyderabad, Ramulu was arrested in a joint operation by Hyderabad and Rachakonda police while investigating the cases of two missing women.

On January 1, one Kavala Anathaiah lodged a complaint with Jubliee Hills police station that his wife Kavala Venkatamma, a labourer, went missing on December 30.

The Task Force, North Zone team, Hyderabad city started working to trace the missing women. On January 4, the dead body of Venkatamma was found near railway track at Ankushapur village, in the limits of Ghatkesar police station.

During the investigations, including with the help of CCTV footage police found that the accused trapped Venkatamma at Yousufguda toddy compound under Jubilee Hills police station limits and took her to an isolated area at Ankushapur village.

After consuming liquor, he killed her with boulder and fled with her valuables.

The police also found that he murdered an unidentified woman aged between 35 and 40 years on December 10 after trapping her at Bala Nagar toddy compound under Cyberabad police commissionerate.

He took her to isolated area in the limits of Japtha Singyapally village in Siddipet district and strangulated her with her saree and committed theft of her silver jewelery.

According to police, Ramulu hails from Sanga Reddy district. When he was 21 years old, his parents performed marriage with a woman, who later eloped with another person. “Since then he bore grudge against women and committing serial killings of women,” the police commissioner said.

He earlier committed 16 murders between 2003 and 2019.

In a murder case in 2009, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. While undergoing the sentence he escaped with five others from Erragadda hospital on December 12, 2011. After the escape, he committed five more murders. He was re-arrested in 2013 but was released from jail in 2018.

The police chief said the accused did not change his attitude and committed two murders. He was released from jail in July last year.