Vinukonda (Andhra Pradesh), Jul 18 (PTI) YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is expected to visit the family of a party worker who was murdered here, on Friday and express solidarity with the bereaved.
According to police, Sheik Jilani (25) hacked Rashid (25) to death at Mundlamuru bus station in Vinukonda around 9 pm on Wednesday.
In the wake of the murder, a video of which has gone viral, YSRCP claimed that Jilani was a rival TDP cadre.
Against this backdrop, the opposition party issued a statement that Reddy will travel to Vinukonda on Friday.
Reddy cut short his Bengaluru visit and returned to Tadepalli at 4 pm on Thursday.
Interestingly, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu deferred a scheduled white paper release on the state of ‘law and order’ in the southern state during the YSRCP government between 2019 and 2024.
However, government sources said the deferment had nothing to do with the murder and added that the CM is keen on releasing the remaining three white papers during the forthcoming assembly session.
The ruling TDP and opposition YSRCP traded charges over the party affiliation of the man who murdered the YSRCP activist.
However, the police claimed that there was nothing political in this incident, but only personal enmity between the two.
“There was no political issue. There were only personal issues between the two persons (Rashid and Jilani). Rumours are being circulated and some people are projecting it as a political murder,” an official told PTI.
The accused was arrested today under Section 103 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Palnadu district Superintendent of Police K Srinivas Rao noted that the crime scene will also be reconstructed.
Earlier, reacting to the crime, Reddy alleged that a “demonic reign” is prevailing in the southern state, bereft of law and order.
“My deepest condolences to the family of Rashid, who was murdered by TDP cadres in Vinukonda,” said Reddy, adding that there is no safety to people’s lives under the TDP government.
The opposition party said Rashid was a party activist and a few YSRCP leaders also visited his family members today to comfort them.
According to Reddy, Andhra Pradesh has turned into a den of crime within just 45 days of the new government assuming power.
Terming the Vinukonda murder as a ‘blot’ on the TDP-led government, Reddy alleged that Naidu and others are perpetrating these atrocities.
Refuting the allegations, the TDP said Jilani was a supporter of the YSRCP chief and called on the former CM to ‘stop supporting’ the murderer.
It asserted that Palnadu’s superintendent of police had ‘denied any political connection to the cold-blooded murder’ that took place in Vinukonda.
“The killing is purely over personal issues and no political party is involved in the murder,” said the TDP in a release, quoting Srinivasa Rao.
According to the ruling party, prohibitory orders were clamped down in Vinukonda, while the SP warned of serious action on anyone resorting to law and order violations in the town. PTI STH ROH
About the Author
