KHAMMAM: Tension prevailed at Kaikondaigudem village in Khammam on Tuesday after a few locals tried to attack Daravath Rammurthy Naik, TRS corporator of first division under Khammam Municipal Corporation (KMC), over the death of a youngster. Meanwhile, the scene escalated quickly after a few persons torched the car owned by the corporator.
According to sources, the incident happened while Naik was on his way to Kaikondaigudem, which falls under his jurisdiction, for inaugurating online classes at government schools. Meanwhile, a few local residents stopped the corporator’s car and entered into a heated argument with Naik regarding his role in the death of a youth, Tejavath Anand, 25, a native of the same village. Anand died on August 18.
Though the villagers, along with the youth’s family, were reportedly calm in the beginning and had intended only to picket the corporator’s car demanding probe into Anand’s death, the scene worsened once Naik started behaving in a harsh manner. In a fit of rage, the protestors first smashed the corporator’s car forcing him to hide in a nearby ZP High School. Police, upon learning about the incident, rushed to the spot and escorted the corporator out of the school. Angered by this, the villagers set the vehicle ablaze. According to sources, in a complaint filed at the Khanapuram Haveli police station, Anand’s mother Tejavath Vijaya has alleged that the corporator was behind the incident.
“On August 18, Naik summoned Anand to his function hall at Jalagam Nagar on the pretext of some welding work. Anand, who left for the work, was found dead later in the afternoon under mysterious circumstances. When we approached Naik to know what happened and how Anand ended up dead, the corporator refused to answer,” Vijaya stated. She also alleged that when they went to meet Naik, the corporator hurled invectives, manhandled them and even kicked her daughter. However, while speaking to the media later in the day, Naik refuted the accusations against him. He claimed that he was being targeted as part of some political game in the wake of ensuing KMC elections.
Naik suspended
The pink party leadership, on Tuesday evening, announced that it has suspended corporator Rammurthy Naik. This information was revealed to the media by party mandal president Bellam Venu who also said that the party has taken a serious note of the incident.