Vijayawada: Chigurupati Jayaram, Florida-based NRI businessman and Coastal Bank director was found dead near Aitavaram village of Krishna district on Friday morning. His niece and her friend have been taken into custody for questioning in this regard.

Jayaram, 65, was found dead in the back seat of his car in the farmlands near Aitavaram village. Nandigama DSP ASC Bose had said Jayaram had left his home in Hyderabad for Vijayawada in a car two days ago.

The police also said that he had recently transferred Rs 4.5 crore to Rakesh Reddy asking him to sever all ties with his niece, Shikha Choudhary also known as Pulivarthi Madhuri. It is said that Shikha's sister, brother, and driver too are being questioned.

Earlier, the Nandigama police traced Jayaram's movements prior to his death after checking his mobile call data. His body was found inside a car after searching for 30 hours from January 30.

Cops have revealed that Jayaram had attended a meeting of Zenotech Laboratories, that he owns, at a hotel in Hyderabad. His niece alias Shikha Choudhary and her friend Rakesh Reddy.

However, the police said that they have not filed any charge sheet yet and they are awaiting forensic report to establish the cause of Jayaram's death.

Jayaram was also the Managing Director of Express TV, a now-defunct Telugu channel and also the Director of Coastal Bank and owned a pharmaceutical company called Hemarus.