HYDERABAD: Had sharp shooter Julakanti Srinivas Reddy alias Moddu Seenu been alive, he would have found himself in a deep mess as far as investigation into the sensational Paritala Ravindra murder case is concerned.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the Paritala case, had gathered such strong evidence against Seenu.
‘‘We had unearthed incriminating evidence against him to prove his role in Paritala Ravindra’s murder case. In fact, several witnesses in the case had even identified him during the test-identification parade,’’ CBI sources associated with the investigation told Express on Monday.
Seenu was done to death inside the Anantapur district jail by a co-prisoner Om Prakash on Sunday morning. He was already serving seven years imprisonment in the case of a bomb blast at a hotel in Chandanagar on the outskirts of the City.
He was acquitted in two murder cases while trial was going on in another murder case, that of former Naxalite Venkat Reddy who was allegedly killed by Seenu.
Sources said now that Seenu was no more, the case against him would be abated and the trial for the remaining accused will continue.
CBI officials said the statements of all accused, witnesses and other evidence clearly pointed out to Seenu’s role in the Paritala case.
Paritala was shot dead, allegedly by Seenu and others, while the TDP MLA was coming out of the party office in Anantapur in January, 2005. The probe is presently being headed by Jacob, SP of the Special Crime Branch of the CBI, Chennai.
The officials confirmed that though Seenu had wanted to turn approver in the case, the CBI was in two minds as Seenu was the key accused who had allegedly opened fire at Paritala Ravi.
‘‘Normally, the main accused in any case is never allowed to turn approver and it is only the peripheral persons (other accused) who are made approvers.
If the main accused himself turns approver, it means that he would escape punishment and get a pardon,’’ officials observed.
The Central Bureau of Investigation officials clarified that during the course of investigation, the alleged involvement of ministers, their sons or any IPS officer, never came to light.
‘‘The statement of another accused in the Paritala case, Ram Mohan, who turned approver, was also recorded and he gave all details about how the arms (used to kill Paritala) were procured by Seenu and from whom. The evidence against Seenu was more than sufficient to get him severe punishment,’’ sources added.
Cong, TD accuse each other of murderous politics
Even as tension gripped Challagundla village in Guntur district on Monday when the body of Julakanti Srinivasa Reddy alias Moddu Seenu was brought from Anantapur, the Andhra Pradesh Government went on the offensive, turning the tables on the Opposition.
Home Minister K Jana Reddy pointed out that Om Prakash, who was accommodated in the same barrack where Seenu was and who allegedly murdered Seenu, belonged to the TDP. Chief whip Kiran Kumar Reddy demanded that the government probe if TDP leaders were behind the murder. Though the Chief Minister said that he was prepared for any inquiry, the Home Minister made it clear that the government would not on its own refer Seenu’s murder to the CBI. He, however, said if the political parties gave representations in writing demanding a CBI probe, he would consider it.
During the day, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu demanded a judicial probe into Moddu Seenu murder and said he had no faith in the CBI. He expressed doubts that Seenu could have been murdered in cold blood outside his barrack and then his body thrown back into the cell. He stuck to his guns that the Chief Minister was behind the murder. While these allegations flew thick and fast, family members of Seenu held up traffic on the Addanki-Narasaraopet Highway for three hours demanding a re-postmortem to which the government agreed. Moddu Seenu’s wife Lakshmi Rajyam and mother Ramakotamma alleged that he was shot dead as there was a hole on his forehead.
They alleged that the Government had failed to provide additional security to Moddu Seenu, after he made clear his intentions to turn approver.