Thummala Aide Murdered, Ex-Minister Urges Calm

An aide of former minister and TRS leader Thummala Nageswara Rao was brutally killed by six unidentified miscreants in Teldarupally of Khammam Rural mandal of Khammam district.

The victim has been identified as Thammineni Krishnaiah.

According to the police, the assailants rammed into the bike of Krishnaiah with an auto rickshaw in the early hours of Monday. Six men then came out of the auto rickshaw and slashed Krishnaiah with sickles.

Krishnaiah is the acting director of the Andhra Bank Karshaka Seva Cooperative Association.

The villagers of Teldarupally alleged that the brother of CPM State Secretary, T Koteswara Rao, was responsible for the murder. They attacked the house of Koteswara Rao and ransacked the furniture in the house.

Thummala expressed deep shock over the incident, and consoled the family members of the victim at a government hospital after paying respects at the body of the victim.

Speaking on the occasion, the former minister said that it was tragic that the murder took place at a time when the fruits of development were reaching the district after its political history changed.

He said that the district had been away from murder politics for the last 30 years, and that it was atrocious that Krishnaiah was murdered in such a gruesome manner.

The former minister said that murder politics were not good for the district, and would only hamper its development.

He demanded that the police punish the accused in the strictest possible manner, and called upon the party workers and his supporters to maintain calm and not resort to violent acts.

He later spoke to Industries Minister K T Rama Rao, and explained to him the details of the murder. He urged the minister to take steps for rigorous punishment for the accused.