Four arrested in TRS leader’s murder case

Hyderabad: Four persons who were suspected to have been involved in the murder of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader and educationist Vallabhaneni Srinivasa Rao were taken into custody on Sunday. His body was found lying near the Sanathnagar bus stop on November 16, suggesting that he was bludgeoned to death the previous night.

According to the police sources, the suspects were taken into custody based on the call data and their earlier face-off with the victim. The four suspects, Haroon, Aleem, Abrar and Taj who are close aides of a local politician were taken into custody following the murder. Earlier, the suspects allegedly thrashed the victim at a political event in the Sanathnagar area. The police are investigating the case in different angles including involvement of the politician for whom the suspects have direct links.

Meanwhile, the Congress leader and former Minister Marri Shashidhar Reddy demanded fair investigation into the murder of Srinivasa Rao, as he believed that his political rivals within the party had eliminated him. He questioned why the police were unable to catch the culprits, even though murder took place more than four days ago. He is likely to meet the DGP for demanding fair investigation. “If the suspects were taken into custody, why is that the police are shying away from revealing their names?” he questioned.

However, Sanathnagar Inspector E Venkat Reddy who is also the investigating officer refuted that suspects were in police custody citing that rumours were afloat even as the investigation was going on. “The case is under investigation and the media will be informed shortly about the progress of the case,” said the Inspector.

Hours before his murder, Srinivasa Rao had lodged a complaint with the S R Nagar police citing ‘life threat’ to him. He also had an argument at a function hall close to his residence in Balkampet with a few individuals over some petty issue. Interestingly, the victim had two criminal cases and a petty case pending against him in S R Nagar police station.

It may be mentioned here that on November 16, the morning walkers found his dead body close to Sanathnagar bus stand amidst boulders and informed the police. A few liquor bottles were also found lying near the body.

A resident of Lingaiah Nagar in Balkampet, Srinivasa Rao was an admirer of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who wanted to bring in change in the education system. He was also running an NGO, with the name of VCR Charitable Trust. It is believed that of late he was having differences with some local leaders.