ANANTAPUR: Garisenapalli village in Bathalapalli mandal of the district remained tense on Tuesday after three TDP activists were hacked to death allegedly by their Congress rivals on Monday. After the victims' bodies were brought to the village the TDP supporters allegedly torched the house of Srinivasa Reddy, who apparently masterminded the killings. The house was reduced to ashes, but nobody was injured.

Family leaves village

Srinivasa Reddy's family had left the village a couple of days ago. Some TDP men were also injured in a clash with Congress activists at Banduru in Bommanahal mandal during the filing of nominations papers for sarpanch election.

MPs' demand

A delegation of the TDP led by MPs Laljan Basha and M. Jagannatham visited the village on Tuesday and consoled the victims' families. Penukonda legislator P. Sunita, party leaders K. Srinivasulu, B.K. Parthasarathi, V. Hanumantharaya Chowdary and others accompanied the MPs.

The TDP MPs urged the State Government to take steps to stop the killing of party activists in the district. Since the Congress assumed power, 39 TDP workers had been killed, they claimed.

They alleged that Chief Minister Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy never condemned the killings. The TDP leaders wanted the Congress to send a clear message to its local leaders to prevent murders. The police too should be instructed to contain political and factional killings, they said.

TDP's ex-gratia

Later, speaking to newspersons here the TDP leaders announced that the party would pay an ex-gratia of Rs. 1 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs. 10,000 each to those injured in Monday's attack.

They wanted the Government to pay an ex-gratia of Rs. 5 lakhs each to the families of victims.

Special Correspondent in Hyderabad writes: The Telugu Desam Party has condemned the "brutal murder" of three party workers in Anantapur and said that the Congress Government had not learnt any lesson from the verdict it got in the recent local body polls in the district.

At a press conference, TDP general secretary, K. Srihari said the verdict was clearly against the faction and murder politics in the district. "If the ruling party continued with its plan of eliminating political opponents all over the State, it will meet the same fate as in Anantapur in the recent elections".

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