VIJAYAWADA: YSRC leader and former Machilipatnam Market Yard chairman Moka Bhaskar Rao was killed in broad daylight in Machilipatnam on Monday afternoon. At least four assailants are said to have attacked Bhaskar Rao at the local fish market. Bhaskar Rao is a close associate of local MLA and Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani).
According to Machilipatnam DSP Mehaboob Basha, Bhaskara Rao was at the fish market around 1 pm monitoring some ongoing works when the unidentified assailants attacked him. Bhaskar Rao suffered severe stab injuries on his chest and died, while undergoing treatment in a hospital. Krishna SP M Ravindranath Babu said they are verifying the CCTV footage and also seeking details from the eyewitnesses. In one of the CCTV footages, one person was seen fleeing on a two-wheeler. On learning about the murder, Perni Nani rushed to the hospital. Terming it a black day in the history of Machilipatnam, Nani claimed that the rival TDP candidate had eliminated Bhaskar Rao.
Bhaskar Rao served as the Machilipatnam Market Yard chairman twice earlier and is now contesting the local body elections. Nani said that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had enquired about the murder and directed the SP to take stern action against the perpetrators of crime. Meanwhile, anticipating trouble at the former minister Kollu Ravindra’s house, the police imposed prohibitory orders and deployed force.