Hyderabad: A 42-year-old BRS supporter, Ch Madhu, was found murdered in Suryapet district, with his body stuffed into gunny bags and dumped beneath a culvert near his native village of Yerkaram in the early hours of Saturday. Police suspect that the killing was driven by old personal enmity.Madhu, who was also listed as a history-sheeter in Suryapet, had earlier been named as an accused in the 2007 murder of former Yerkaram sarpanch M Ravinder. Though he was later acquitted in the case, investigators now suspect that Ravinder’s son, M Jeevan, may have orchestrated the murder in an alleged act of revenge.Suryapet superintendent of police K Narasimha visited the crime scene after the body was recovered. According to police, Madhu’s wife, Mounika, approached the Suryapet town police station around 2am on Saturday to report that her husband was missing.In her complaint, she stated that Madhu had left home around 11am on Friday for personal work and remained in touch with her and some associates until nearly 6pm. Thereafter, he stopped responding to calls.“We registered a missing case and launched a search operation. Around 3.30am, Madhu’s body was found stuffed in gunny bags under a culvert near Yerkaram village. He had suffered multiple injuries inflicted with sharp-edged weapons. Preliminary investigation suggests he was murdered elsewhere and the body was later dumped near his village,” the SP said.Police suspect the involvement of Jeevan, son of the slain former sarpanch. “Madhu was the prime accused in Ravinder’s murder case before being acquitted. We suspect Ravinder’s son, who was seven years old at the time of his father’s murder, may be the key conspirator behind this killing. The crime appears to stem from a long-standing personal grudge,” a senior investigating officer said.There was also speculation linking the murder to another former sarpanch, O Venkanna, in whose murder case Madhu was a witness. However, police ruled out that angle.“In the Venkanna murder case, the prime accused, Vadde Yellaiah, had already been killed in Andhra Pradesh’s Jaggaiahpet. Madhu’s testimony in that case had also been formally recorded by the court. So far, our investigation has found no involvement of the accused in that case,” the SP clarified.Police records show that Madhu faced four to five criminal cases, including assault and intimidation charges, in Suryapet district. The SP maintained that the murder was not politically motivated.Police investigation revealed that Madhu was lured to the house of an acquaintance, T Janaiah, in Tallagadda of Suryapet under the pretext of a liquor party. Police suspect that once he was intoxicated, a group of assailants, including Jeevan, arrived at the location. “Madhu was murdered inside the house. The body was then transported in a four-wheeler to Yerkaram and dumped beneath the culvert,” an investigating officer said.The initially registered missing case was later converted into a murder case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Multiple police teams have been deployed to trace and arrest Jeevan and the other accused.Former minister and BRS MLA G Jagadish Reddy visited Madhu’s family in Suryapet and expressed condolences. He alleged that the murder reflected a failure of law and order under the Congress govt in the state.
