An 83-year-old woman who ran a petty shop was allegedly murdered for her gold jewellery on the outskirts of Madanapalle, with her body later recovered from a lake in Tirupati district, 10 days later.

Lakshmidevi, a widow, was a resident of Devareddygaripalle in Kondamaripalle village panchayat of Madanapalle mandal. She was running a small shop on the Madanapalle bypass road. Police said the accused, identified as Vinod, had his eye on her jewellery, hatched a plan, and allegedly killed her on August 26.

To destroy evidence, the accused allegedly moved the body to Mulagamudi lake near Vadamalapeta in Tirupati district and buried it close to the waterbody.

Acting on a tip-off, the Madanapalle Taluk police reached the lake on Saturday and exhumed the body. An inquest and spot post-mortem were conducted at the site in the presence of Revenue officials.

The family members and relatives of the deceased staged a ‘rasta-roko’ on the Madanapalle bypass road, demanding the arrest of the accused. The police registered a case and formed a special party to track down the accused, who is at large.