KURNOOL: A 57-year-old mentally ill man was stoned to death while he was asleep on a footpath at RS Pendekal village under Tuggali police station limits in Kurnool district late on Saturday. The deceased was identified as Pujari Ramudu alias Bheemanna, a native of RS Pendekal, and brother of YSRC MLC Pothula Sunitha. Ramudu’s body was found with injuries on his head at the Railway Junction around 11.00 pm of Saturday.
Speaking to TNIE, Ramudu’s younger brother Pujari Lenin alias Sreenu said the 57-year-old was unmarried and an activist in the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People’s War, commonly known as People’s War Group, around 30 years ago. He had also served as the president of Radical Students’ Union (RSU) in 1984-85. Later, Ramudu joined a group of Naxalites and was appointed as a Bhuvanasi Dalam commander.
Lenin added that Ramudu had surrendered before the police in 1991 as he was unhappy with the operations of the group. “He laid down his arms before the then district SP Mahendar Reddy,” Lenin recalled.“Later, Ramudu became mentally ill and remained aloof over the past few years. He preferred to be alone and not communicate at all,” his brother said. Lenin maintained that Ramudu did not have any enemies.
While the cause of the murder remains a mystery, Tuggali police station sub-inspector Mallikarjuna clarified that it was not a case of political revenge. He suspected that beggars or another mentally ill person might have killed Ramudu. A case was registered and investigation is underway.