A former extremist leader, Patlolla Goverdhan Reddy, who was accused of involvement in several cases, including some sensational killings, was stalked and murdered at Boggulakunta area under Sultan Bazar police station limits here on Tuesday by four unidentified persons.
Fifty-year-old Reddy boarded an autorickshaw at Telugu Academy to go to Abids along with a person, a tall and well-built man wearing a green pullover, who is believed to be part of the murder conspiracy. Reddy directed the autorickshaw driver, Mohd. Ismail, to head towards Abids. While the three-wheeler passed by the Endowments Office in Boggulakunta and reached a bylane, Reddy's acquaintance asked the driver to stop. Even as Ismail waited for further instructions, the co-passenger pounced on Reddy and held him tightly.
Meanwhile, four others arrived on two bikes. Three of them covered the vehicle ensuring others couldn't see what was happening inside. “The fourth went to the rear, tore open the vehicle's cover and slit Reddy's throat with a knife,” Ismail recalled in his statement to the police. Later, Reddy's acquaintance joined the killers and sped away along with them on the bikes. Reddy's body was shifted to Osmania General Hospital morgue but none could identify him.
It was the Sultan Bazar police station writer, David, who eventually recognised him, while recording details of the victim.
The motive and details of the assailants are not yet known. Reddy's alleged involvement in different cases triggered many theories and possibilities.
He was acquitted of the charge in Telugu Desam MLA Paritala Ravindra's murder case recently. He was released from prison on September 17 and sought police protection, claiming a threat to his life.
A couple of hours before the murder, Reddy rang up his counsel, Nayan Kumar Reddy, alleging that police were harassing him in connection with a missing of a person in Meerpet of Cyberabad. “I filed a petition in the State Human Rights Commission around 1.15 p.m. and someone broke the news of his murder two hours later,” the advocate said.
Hailing from Mallareddypalli of Tandur in Ranga Reddy district, Reddy joined the CPI (ML) CRC group while studying in Nizam College and later founded a party named Revolutionary Patriotic Tigers (RPT) in 1990. He was allegedly involved in over 65 cases, including eight murders, and arrested several times.
