GUNTUR: Palnadu police have arrested six people in connection with the murder of two brothers, Javishetty Venkateswarlu (62) and Javishetty Koteshwara Rao (52), who are residents of Gundlapadu village in Veldurthi mandal.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Palnadu District Superintendent of Police (SP) Kanchi Srinivasa Rao said the brothers were ambushed and killed on May 24 around 4:45 pm between Bodilaveedu and Mandadi villages while returning from a wedding in Nakkagudem of Telangana.
The attackers, in a Scorpio car, rammed into their bike and stoned them to death.
Police registered a case at Veldurthi police station and launched an investigation, which revealed that the killings were linked to a long-standing factional rivalry. The accused, led by Thota Venkataramaiah, who reportedly intended to contest the upcoming panchayat polls, had a longstanding enmity with the victims.
Of the nine named in the FIR, six were arrested on June 4. They are: Thota Venkataramaiah, Javishetty Srinivasa Rao, Thota Guruvayya, Dongari Nagaraju, Thota Venkateswarlu, and Gellipogu Vikram.
Three others, including Macharla-based leaders Pinnelli Venkata Reddy, former MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, and Venkatrami Reddy, are absconding. Special teams have been formed to apprehend them.
SP Srinivasa Rao personally visited the crime scene and constituted five police teams, led by Gurazala DSP BLN Jagadeesh and Macherla Rural CI Sk Nafeez Basha. He praised the swift and effective action of the teams in solving the case.