GUNTUR: Thsoe who are suspected to have hacked Basavala Vasu, the 38-year old rowdy-sheeter in the most gruesome manner in the busy Arundelpet area of Guntur city on Sunday night, were arrested by the Guntur police within 24-hours of the incident. According to Guntur Urban SP Ch Vijaya Rao, financial disputes were the motive behind the murder. The victim Vasu and the main accused Singasetty Satish alias Chekodila Satish (26) were involved in cricket betting. Two months ago, differences cropped up between them over sharing of money. Since then, Satish held a grudge against Vasu and biding his time until he could finally take revenge.
On Sunday night, the assailants came in a Scorpio vehicle to Street Number 12 of Arundelpet, as Vasu stepped out of Anwar Restaurant along with his friend Ch Chaithanya, a TDP leader. They first hit him with the vehicle and when he fell, they attacked him with sickles. He was hacked more than two dozen times in just less than a minute by the six attackers, who fled the spot after their bloody deed, leaving everyone in the area shell-shocked. Police identified the assailants with the help of video footage from surveillance cameras, which captured the entire gruesome incident.
The other five attackers were identified as Chakrakoti Sai (19), Sk Adam (24), Sk Suleman (23), Guntupalli Sivaramakrishna (22) and Kavati Rajesh (33). They were arrested at Budampadu on the city outskirts and weapons and the vehicle used for murder were also seized.
The SP said Satish has planned the murder along with his friends since he had a fight over the finance deal with Vasu and had been observing his movements since then. However, he did not explain the role of Chaitanya, who was also picked up by the police following the murder. He said they are still investigating.