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Sunday, May 18, 2008
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TDP leader killed in bitter rivalry

D. Sreenivasulu

Assailants ram truck into jeep to murder Palegar Venkatappa Naidu, 8 others

Photo: U. Subramanyam

COLD-BLOODED MURDER: The mangled remains of the truck and jeep near Kurnool on Saturday.

KURNOOL: The uneasy peace in the faction-ridden Kurnool district was shattered when a Telugu Desam Party leader, Palegar Venkatappa Naidu, and eight others were done to death in a brutal manner near Kodumur in Kurnool district on Saturday.

The killers rammed an empty truck at high speed into the jeep in which Venkatappa Naidu was travelling towards Kurnool. As the jeep lay crushed, some men waiting at the spot reportedly hurled crude bombs at the TDP leader and later attacked them savagely with hunting sickles.

Their prime target, Venkatappa Naidu (63), died instantaneously of wounds suffered in the head, neck and face. His police gunman Ramudu, driver Chenna Kesavulu, and his nephew Sivasankar Naidu and five others were also killed while two others were battling for life in the Government General Hospital with multiple injuries.

The killer truck, which also became immobilized after the incident, was left on the spot while the assailants fled in other vehicles. Police found an abandoned Tata Sumo vehicle near Gorantla, about 25 km from the spot of murder. Blood-stained weapons and unexploded bombs were recovered from the vehicle by police.

During the past few years, factional violence in this district has been under control due to stepped up vigilance by police and ‘counselling’ of the factionalists. However, last week, factionalism raised its head when a Congress activist Ranganna was killed by rivals.

The killers had masterminded the crime meticulously. They closely followed Venkatappa Naidu who started from his village, Kappatralla, at 9 am. After travelling 3 km, Venkatappa Naidu shifted to another vehicle, but informants positioned en route, conveyed this to the killers who selected a spot between Bodapadu and Kunnur to carry out the murder.

Police and rescue workers struggled to remove the bodies from the mangled remains of the jeep. TDP district president Byreddy Rajasekhar Reddy, S.V. Mohan Reddy, who visited the spot, blamed the Congress leaders for the murder. A hostile crowd greeted Superintendent of Police N. Madhusudan Reddy and other police officers at the spot. They raised slogans against the police and smashed the panes of a few buses.

12 attacks

Venkatappa Naidu who belonged to backward class Valmiki community has been a staunch supporter of TDP Polit Bureau member K.E. Krishna Murthy. He had survived 12 attacks on his life over the last 38 years but the 13th attempt proved fatal in spite of all the security cover.

A case was registered against 18 persons on charges of murdering Venkatappa Naidu and others on Saturday on a complaint filed by his relative with Gonegandla police station. Among the accused was Kotla Harichakrapani Reddy, a cousin of Congress MP, Kotla Suryaprakasa Reddy.

Meanwhile, the truck involved in the murder was traced to one Madduleti Naidu, a relative of Venkatappa Naidu.

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