Basavala Bharatha Vasu, who was murdered by a gang of six persons on Sunday night, has been killed allegedly over a raging turf war with his rivals. He was earlier convicted of the murder of Mangali Srinu in 2009 and had gone in for an appeal.
Vasu, 39, was brutally murdered by four unidentified persons at the busy Arundelpet 12th lane outside Anwar Restaurant. The cold blooded murder reminded of the killing of Karasani Srinu in 2008.
Superintendent of Police, Guntur Urban, Ch. Vijaya Rao, who cracked the murder mystery within 24 hours, produced six persons charged with the murder. The police identified the accused as Singamsetty Satish, Kavati Rajesh, Ch. Sai Krishna, Sk. Suleiman, Sk. Adam and G. Siva Ramakrishna. The police are also investigating the role of Sakiri Chaitanya, who was with Vasu when the accused killed him.
Narrating the sequence of events that led to the murder, Mr. Vijaya Rao said the accused had reportedly harboured a grudge against Vasu ever since the latter warned him of dire consequences following a rally held by his supporters in One Town on Gandhi Jayanti.
One of the accused , Rajesh, has reportedly admitted before police that Vasu had threatened and insulted him over a petty issue.
The growing popularity of Satish in parts of One Town, where Vasu had a following, could not be digested by Vasu, who used to warn Satish. Fearing severe reprisal, Satish decided to eliminate Vasu and engaged his friends, Rajesh, Sai Krishna and Suleiman, all of them from Balaji Nagar. The accused used sickles to kill Vasu.
“We used tower dump technology and call data of the accused to arrest them within 24 hours. They were nabbed just when they were about to leave the town,’’ said Mr. Vijaya Rao.
The SP said that the police would not spare any one indulging in anti social activities and warned of severe action against anyone indulging in extortion and settlements.
“We will also reward those who give information about the activities of anti social elements who are a threat to peace in the city,” he said.
He added that the six accused would be externed from the city and a letter has been sent to the Collector.
