Commander of Chitrakonda Area Committee of the banned CPI (Maoist) Pangi Mangaraju, who is under remand at the Central Jail here, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from the bars of a ventilator of a bathroom in the early hours of Saturday.
Superintendent of the jail Indla Srinivas said that Mangaraju was not mentally stable and had been treated at the Government Hospital here on some occasions. Mangaraju (31) of Kukkamarri village in Malkangiri district of Odisha was sent to the jail on September 5, 2010 and a dozen cases were pending against him, Dr. Srinivas said.
DCP of Madhurawada, Circle Inspector of Arilova and RDO visited the jail and an inquest was held. Later the body was shifted for post-mortem to KGH.
Nagaraju, who joined Maoists at a young age, was arrested along with M. Yesobu alias Jaipal, a Maoist leader of Guntur area, during a routine vehicle check at Yebulam village in G.K. Veedhi Mandal on September 4, 2010. They were allegedly planning to eliminate some politicians in the area, the then Superintendent of Police Vineet Brij Lal said. Nagaraju was listed as an accused in the Balimela ambush case, Gunukyrayi encounter case and several other cases.
