Narayana Reddy had sought protection after depositing his revolver with police

YSR Congress Pathikonda constituency in charge Cherukulapadu Narayana Reddy and his aide Sambasivudu were murdered by members of a rival faction at Ramakrishnapuram in Krishnagiri mandal of Kurnool district on Sunday.

Narayana Reddy’s car went off the road near a culvert after a tractor hit it from behind and about 20 to 25 members of the rival group hurled bombs, dragged him and his aide out of the car and attacked them with hunting sickles and knives, killing Narayana Reddy on the spot. Sambasivudu, who tried to flee, was hacked to death about 500 metres away.

The YSRC leader was returning to Krishnagiri after attending marriages at Nandyal and Veldurthi when the attack took place. A close relative of former Union Minister Kotla Jayasuryaprakash Reddy, Narayana Reddy contested unsuccessfully against Deputy Chief Minister K.E. Krishnamurthy as Congress candidate from the Pathikonda constituency in the 2014 elections.

Later he joined the YSR Congress. The rival group had attacked his house in Cherukulapadu village some time ago and destroyed vehicles on the premises. He was acquitted by a court in the case of murder of Kappatralla Venkatappaiah Naidu a few years ago.

Narayana Reddy had deposited his revolver with the police for renewal of its licence and had urged the State government to provide protection to him as he faced threat to his life.

Kurnool Superintendent of Police A. Ravikrishna visited the scene. The SP said he was unaware that Narayana Reddy applied for renewal of his gun licence. Three teams were constituted to nab the assailants, he said.

A sniffer dog squad and a Clues team were pressed into service. Police pickets were posted in Cherukulapadu and Veldurthi to avert any flare-up in law and order. The bodies were shifted to the Kurnool general hospital for a post-mortem examination.

‘TDP encouraging faction violence’

Mr. Jayasuryaprakash Reddy alleged that the police did not act despite the threat to Narayana Reddy. He paid homage to the victims at the hospital.

YSRC MLC Gangula Prabhakar Reddy, Mantralayam MLA Y. Balanagi Reddy and Panyam MLA Gauru Charitha Reddy accused the TDP of encouraging faction attacks against Opposition party leaders.

YSRC district president Gauru Venkata Reddy said two party functionaries were murdered at Allagadda a few days ago and a leader today, as the police were acting on the diktats of ruling party leaders.