The repeated threats issued by a person claiming to be a naxal leader to Yellandu legislator Koram Kanakaiah in the past fortnight has created ripples among the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) cadre in Yellandu constituency.
However, the local police suspect that the “extortion bid” could be the handiwork of “pseudo naxalites.”
Mr Kanakaiah, who hails from Koyagudem, a tribal habitation in Tekulapalli mandal, received two threatening letters and two phone calls in the name of ultras over the past two weeks.
He had forwarded the letters and the call data records to police officials concerned a couple of days ago, sources said.
This has prompted the Tekulapalli police to initiate additional security measures at the residence of the MLA in his native village, once a stronghold of naxals.
“I had received two threatening letters in the name of Maoists followed by two phone calls from a person who identified himself as Bhadru of Chhattisgarh recently,” said Mr Kanakaiah, who is representing the Yellandu ST reserved constituency in the State Assembly.
“The person who identified himself as Bhadru demanded money saying they need cash for the treatment of one of their ailing ultras. I grew suspicious that it was the handiwork of some extortion gangs and subsequently informed the local police about the threats,” Mr Kanakaiah told The Hindu over phone. A CCTV camera was installed at the residence of the Yellandu MLA.
