Former cricketer held for murder of differently-abled woman in Chittoor

The Chittoor II-Town police on Friday cracked case of murder of a differently-abled woman by arresting the prime accused a week after the crime. The victim, identified as 1-year-old C. Kavitha a resident of Chittoor town, was reportedly murdered on December 31, 2025. The arrest came in the wake of protests by the victim’s family members, along with disability rights groups, seeking justice in the case.

Addressing a press conference here, Deputy SP (Chittoor) T. Sainath and II-Town Inspector B. Nettikantaiah said that the case took a turn when investigators recovered Kavitha’s body from beneath a bridge across the Neeva river near Gangadhara Nellore, 11 km from Chittoor, on January 7. The recorded voice messages of the victim prompted the police to alter the ‘missing case’ into a ‘murder case’. Critical leads emerged from CCTV footage, mobile phone tracking and eyewitness inputs, which revealed Kavitha’s last movements near Raghava Theatre here and her subsequent travel in an auto to a remote area.

The police teams zeroed in on 26-year-old Ganesh, a former State-level cricketer who had played in domestic leagues and represented India in an international disability cricket match in 2023. The Deputy SP said that Ganesh had lured Kavitha on the pretext of marriage, took her to a secluded spot on the outskirts of the town and allegedly killed her after a heated argument over marriage late on December 31.

In an apparent attempt to erase evidence, the accused reportedly dumped the body under the bridge and disposed of the victim’s mobile phone by throwing it into a moving lorry. The police traced Ganesh to a rented room near Kattamanchi Y-junction at the city outskirts and arrested him.

The accused reportedly confessed to the crime, stating that he wanted to sever ties with the victim after securing the job of an assistant bank manager. Ganesh was later sent for remand.