Hyderabad, Jan. 22: A female TV anchor who had been “in hysterics” after the daylight murder of a gangster whose life had inspired Ram Gopal Varma’s Rakta Charitra is now at the focus of the investigation.

Police yesterday questioned 24-year-old Swetha Reddy, the “bubbly” and popular NTV presenter, who claims to be a relative of the victim, M. Suryanarayana Reddy. Officers claim she is the suspected killer’s girlfriend.

“Suri” was shot dead in his car on a Hyderabad street on January 3, allegedly by his long-time aide Bhanu Kiran.

The police claimed Swetha was a benami (proxy) holder of much of Bhanu’s property, which were apparently stolen from Suri while he was in jail.

Minutes after the murder, the anchor had rushed to the hospital where the body had been brought. “She was upset and hysterical,” a sleuth said.

Officers claimed the call lists of the cellphones of Swetha, Suri and Bhanu had revealed that she frequently called both, and that some of the conversations suggested she was in a relationship with Bhanu, who is in hiding.

Swetha, however, told the media: “Suri and I were distant relatives. I have no links with Bhanu, who was just a sidekick of Suri.”

But the police alleged she had confessed to having been Bhanu’s girlfriend for the past four years, while claiming she did not know about his dark side. “That is hard to believe. We know that Suri and Bhanu struck several deals with their clients from her Banjara Hills flat,” an officer said.

Officers say Swetha had suddenly turned a “multi-millionaire” a few years ago and apparently part-owns a boutique and a film industry lab. The police have seized several documents relating to her properties.

The police say Suri had invested nearly Rs 300 crore in 10 to 15 films that are in the pipeline. Varma and producers C. Kaylan and Singanamala Ramesh have denied accepting the gangster’s money.

Ramesh, though, admitted owning the Hyderabad flat where Suri had been living.

“I gave my apartment and my cook to Suri as I mostly live in Chennai. I never had any business deals with him,” he told reporters. He admitted receiving “help” from Suri on certain matters without elaborating.