The mystery surrounding the death of a 30-year-old fisherman, Mylapalli Chanti, whose body was found with injuries to his face and a rope tied around his neck at Jalaripeta beach on September 7, has been solved.
After more than a month of investigation and questioning, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) established that the death was not a murder. The circumstances indicate that he died by self-strangulation, while reportedly in a disturbed state of mind, the police said.
The deceased, Mylapalli Chanti, a resident of Paindorapeta under One Town, was a native of Vizianagaram district. Following a complaint from his sister, M. Appalakonda, the One Town police initially registered a murder case and launched an investigation.
During the investigation, the One Town police questioned around 50 people, examined CCTV footage in the area and analysed call data.
However, the investigation did not yield any evidence indicating the involvement of another person in the death. In view of the circumstances, the Commissioner of Police constituted an SIT headed by Gajuwaka Traffic Inspector Sheikh Hussain to establish the exact circumstances leading to Chanti’s death.
The SIT examined CCTV footage from Matrix cameras, private establishments and cameras installed by the Navy after obtaining permission from Naval Coastal Battery authorities. The team also reconstructed Chanti’s movements on September 6 by identifying and questioning witnesses who had seen him during the day and at night.
The investigation found that Chanti had been addicted to alcohol and had been facing family problems. His wife had gone to Mukkam village in October last year for childbirth and had reportedly told him that she would return only if he stopped drinking. She had not returned to live with him, since then.
Police said that although his wife and child had stayed at a relative’s house in Relli Veedhi on September 5, he did not go to meet them.
The investigation also found that Chanti had been displaying signs of disturbed mental health. He had reportedly told close associates that unidentified persons were following him and trying to kill him. But he did not disclose who were they. His friends saw him on September 6 behaving abnormally, repeatedly saying that someone was chasing him and trying to kill him as he moved towards Jalaripeta beach.
At around 9.30 p.m. on September 6, Chanti reportedly took the phone of a Vendor at Jalaripeta and called the police emergency number 100, claiming that six persons were coming to kill him. One Town Blue Colts reached the spot and questioned him. As Chanti could not explain who was allegedly pursuing him, the constables reportedly suspected that he was in a disturbed state of mind. Later, One Town night patrol team found Chanti and noticing his abnormal behaviour advised him to leave the place.
A crucial piece of evidence came from a group of around 15 persons, who had reached Jalaripeta beach from Akkireddipalem, at around 1 a.m. to immerse a Sri Krishna idol as part of Sri Krishnashtami celebrations. While performing the immersion, the group reportedly noticed Chanti sitting a short distance away on his knees facing the sea. They saw him winding a rope around his neck, tightening it and pulling it repeatedly. In their statement to the police, the group members said that they did not approach him as they feared that he might be performing some black magic.
Police said that the post-mortem examination also supported the police findings.
Published - October 07, 2026 06:34 pm IST