Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party leader Thota Chandraiah (36) was hacked to death by unidentified persons in Gundlapadu in the Veldurthy zone of Guntur district on Thursday.
Chandraiah is a panchayat president of a village in the Guntur district. He has been at loggerheads with his political rival for the past few days.
Chandraiah left home on a bike at 7 AM on Thursday for work. He was attacked with knives and sticks by a group of thugs who had waylaid him. The TDP leader died at the spot.
The incident created a tense atmosphere in the village. Police started to investigate the murder and are looking for the perpetrators. To avoid any unpleasant incidents, police patrolling reportedly has also been increased.
Chandraiah's family claimed that his political enemies were responsible for his death.
N Chandrababu Naidu, the TDP's national president and former chief minister, has condemned the murder. Later in the day, he would visit the village to console the murdered leader's family.
Naidu claimed that several TDP activists have died due to the anarchic reign of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). He claimed that the YSRCP was assassinating TDP leaders and workers who dared to speak out against the ruling government in the state.
TDP leaders Nakka Ananda Babu, Dhulipalla Narendra and Kovelamudi Ravindra alleged that the YSRCP leaders were infiltrating the violence again for fear of defeat. They told the reporters on Thursday that TDP leader Thota Chandraiah's death was unquestionably a political assassination.
They were outraged that the YCP had been promoting such assassination politics since the formation of the government.
(With inputs from ABP Desam — It is a Telugu platform of ABP News. For more news, commentary and latest happenings from two Telugu states, follow https://telugu.abplive.com//amp )