Adilabad: Bhupalapalli Congress MLA Gandra Satyanarayana Rao on Thursday raised doubts over the claim that a “supari” was handed over to a gang to kill Nagavelli Rajalinga Murthy, urging the state government to immediately order a CB-CID inquiry into the murder. Rao also questioned the alleged political motive behind the killing.
Murthy, who gained prominence in 2023 after lodging a complaint with local police over alleged irregularities in the construction of the Medigadda barrage and corruption charges against prominent political figures, was murdered in Reddy Colony at the Bhupalapalli district headquarters on Wednesday night. According to Rao, Murthy had been actively opposing irregularities in the barrage project and government land encroachments.
Police investigations have already led to the arrest of two suspects — Renikuntla Sanjiv and his relative Srimanth — while two others, identified as More Kumar and Kothuri Kumar, remain at large. Meanwhile, Murthy’s wife Sarala has alleged that her husband’s murder was politically motivated.
Additional details of the case point to longstanding land disputes involving Murthy. Sources indicate that rival groups, including factions linked to the Renikuntla family, were embroiled in a bitter dispute over land near the police station. The conflict is said to have deepened following Murthy’s involvement in trapping Tahasildar Chakradhar through an ACB operation, which further inflamed local tensions.
Responding to the incident, minister for rural development Dansari Anasuya Seethakka, who was in Mancherial district, condemned the murder and warned that the state government would not tolerate any involvement of former ministers or MLAs in such crimes. “Killing someone in an act of revenge is unacceptable,” she stated.
