Seven years after Suri murder, killer awarded life term, helper gets five years in jail

A shocked Madhumohan Reddy stopped the car immediately, after which Bhanukiran got out and said they were being attacked by opponents.
Bhanukiran at Nampally Court in Hyderabad on Tuesday | Express
Bhanukiran at Nampally Court in Hyderabad on Tuesday | Express

HYDERABAD: Seven years after Andhra Pradesh-based gangster Gangula Suryanarayana Reddy alias Maddelacheruvu Suri was shot dead in the city, his aide M Bhanukiran and Manmohan Singh Bhadauria have been found guilty by a city court.

The court sentenced Bhanukiran, who shot Suri in the head in his car, to life imprisonment and Bhadauria who helped execute the murder to five years in jail. The statements of Suri’s driver, Madhumohan Reddy, who was in the car at the time of the incident, was the key piece of evidence in the case. 

The court acquitted four other accused in the case — Sulam Subbaiah, B Venkata Hari Babu, Venkataramana and K Vamseedhar Reddy — as the prosecution failed to prove charges against them. 

Suri was convicted of masterminding a bomb blast in 1997 to kill his opponent and former Andhra Pradesh Minister Paritala Ravindra. He was also accused of the latter’s murder in 2005 while he was MLA. Bhanukiran had earlier confessed before an investigating agency that he had planned to kill Suri because he had been “severely humiliated” by him

Bhanukiran, who was a trusted aide of Suri’s, fell out with him after he was sidelined because he used Suri’s money to make land deals while he was in prison. 

On Tuesday, first Additional Metropolitan Sessions judge Kunchala Sunitha delivered the judgment in a packed court hall. The court also imposed a fine of 40,000 on Bhanukiran on charges of murder and provisions under Arms Act. Manmohan was fined Rs 5,000 for causing disappearance of evidence. On January 3, 2011, Bhanukiran shot Suri who was sitting next to the driver with a 0.32 pistol, killing him on the spot.

A shocked Madhumohan Reddy stopped the car immediately, after which Bhanukiran got out and said they were being attacked by opponents.

Days, after Maddelacheruvu Suri was shot dead inside his car at Navodaya colony in Yousufguda in the city on January 3, 2011, Hyderabad police, had arrested Manmohan Singh Bahadur, S. Subbaiah, A. Venkataramana and B.V. Hari Babu in connection with the sensational day-light murder. 

The police, then, claimed that Bhanukiran had planned the murder days in advance. On the day, he had asked Hari Babu and Subbaiah to be ready with a bike in the vicinity of Navodaya Colony in Banjara Hills, where he shot dead Suri. In fact, police had said that even as Bhanu was travelling with Suri, he was sharing information via texts with Subbaiah. Manmohan Singh, who had worked as Bhanu’s gunman, joined him at Kukatpally, and with help of another friend, who later reached out to police upon hearing about the murder, they fled to Uttar Pradesh and then Delhi, police had claimed. 

However, prosecution failed to establish their role in the conspiracy, and A-3 (accused 3) Subbaiah, A-4 Haribabu, A-5 Venkata Ramana and A-6 Vamsidhar Reddy were acquitted. During investigation, Bhanukiran had confessed to police that he had planned to kill Suri a few months after his release from prison in 2010. He was serving imprisonment in a car bomb blast case of 1997 in Jubilee Hills when he attempted to kill former MLA Paritala Ravindra. 

Following Suri’s death in January 2011, Manmohan Singh was the first to be arrested near Hi-tech city railway station on January 29, 2011, after which the other four accused were arrested. However, Bhanukiran kept police on heels for more than a year, before finally landing in police net in April 2012. He was caught at a dhaba in Zaheerabad of Sangareddy district. Later the weapon was also seized. Months later, police recovered two cartridges of the rounds Bhanukiran shot at Suri, from Patancheru.

Inquiries revealed that before the murder, when Suri along with Bhanukiran started to go home, the other accused followed their car on two bikes. During the travel, Bhanu kept updating Subbaiah about their movement through text messages. There were at least eight text messages exchanges and 12 calls between Bhanu and Subbaiah, who along with Haribabu, Venkata Ramana and Vamshidhar Reddy were following them on two bikes from a close distance. 

After shooting Suri at Navodaya Colony, Bhanu alighted from the car and got onto Subbaiah’s bike and wore a helmet, while Haribabu sat behind Bhanu for cover. Venkata Ramana and Vamshidhar followed them on another bike.

After travelling for a distance, Haribabu got down while Subbaiah and Bhanu proceeded towards Moosapet, from where Manmohan picked up Bhanu and they fled. The weapon used in the murder was supplied to Bhanu by Manmohan. Inquiries also revealed that Bhanu procured two country made pistols and test fired them, but failed. So, he took Manmohan’s help to get weapon. 

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