Khammam: TRS leader Tammineni Krishnaiah was brutally killed by a gang of five in broad daylight in Teldarpalli village in Khammam Rural mandal on Monday. Tension prevails in the region as this is seen as part of a fight between the TRS and CPIM.
The gang, which came in an autorickshaw, chased a two-wheeler and hit the vehicle. Krishaniah, in the pillion, fell on the ground along with his assistant, Koppula Muthesam, who rode the two-wheeler.
The assailants threatened Muthesam and asked him to keep off. They pounced on Krishnaiah with sickles and knives and stabbed him repeatedly on his head and neck. The gang chopped off the two hands of Krishnaiah and took these away.
Krishnaiah was previously with the CPI-M. He joined the TRS four years ago and is a staunch follower of former minister Tummala Nageswara Rao in Palair assembly constituency. The deceased was a cousin of CPI-M state secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram. Krishnaiah had serious personal differences with Tammineni Koteswara Rao, brother of Veerabhadram.
Notably, the CPI-M state secretary stayed for two days in Teldarpalli before the murder took place. Krishnaiah was a director of the Andhra Bank Karshaka Sahakara Samithi.
The attack took place 400 feet away from the victim’s house in Teldarpalli. Muthesam identified four of the assailants as Nukala Lingaiah, Bodapalli Srinu, Gajji Krishnaswamy and Cheviti Nageswara Rao.
The killing of Krishnaiah yet again brought to the fore the long-held culture of political gangsterism and faction fights in Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh.
Teldarpalli village turned into a danger zone immediately after the killing. The followers of Krishnaiah ransacked the house of Tammineni Koteswara Rao and the other assailants like N Lingaiah, B Srinu, G Krishnaswamy and C Nageswara Rao.
A police force rushed to the spot and provided security to the houses of the CPI-M leaders.
DCP Subhash Chandra said, “The murder took place at the height of a political feud between the CPI-M and TRS. The two parties are aiming at control of the village. We will arrest the killers soon.”
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