A mandal level Congress leader was stabbed to death in full public view by his rivals owing to alleged old enmity at Yerragunta in Annapureddypally mandal on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Vemula Srinivas Rao, 40, the mandal Congress committee vice-president, of Yerragunta.
The police have ruled out political rivalry behind the gruesome murder.
Police suspect previous enmity over land or contract works related disputes to be the motive behind the ghastly killing.
The incident sparked widespread protests by the local Congress cadre who took to the streets demanding action against the local police officials concerned for allegedly failing to act on the death threats reportedly received by Srinivas from his adversaries last month.
Sources said two persons attacked Srinivas with pepper spray while the latter was sitting inside a hotel to eat breakfast on Friday morning.
Srinivas tried to escape the bid on his life but was chased and stabbed to death by the duo a few meters away from the hotel.
Incensed over the incident, the local Congress cadre led by Shourie, the convener of the TPCC SC Cell, staged a sit-in on the main road in the village condemning the brutal murder of the mandal Congress leader.
They pointed out that Srinivas submitted a petition to the local police officials apprehending threat to his life from two persons of the same village and sought protection last month.
The protesters demanded that the culprits behind the ghastly murder be brought to book and handed over deterrent punishment.
They sought a detailed probe into the alleged lapses on the part of local police in acting promptly on the written complaint filed by the victim in August this year.
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