Hyderabad : A year after the murder of veteran CPM leader and former Patharlapadu sarpanch Samineni Rama Rao in a suspected financial dispute, Khammam police have arrested the four assailants in the case.
The arrested men were identified as Bodapatla Srinivasa Rao alias Mental Srinu (34), a mason; Nukala Lingaiah (43), a farmer; Mallarapu Lakshmaiah (24), and Karlapudi Uday Kumar (39), painters. All are residents of Teldarupalli village in Khammam rural mandal.
Police seized two knives suspected to have been used in the murder and four mobile phones allegedly used during reconnaissance before the crime.
Khammam police commissioner Sunil Dutt said the exact reason for the killing would be established through further investigation While investigators suspect a monetary dispute as the motive. Police are also trying to establish whether the four assailants were hired by someone.
As part of the probe, police secured court permission to conduct polygraph tests on 24 persons whose names surfaced during the investigation. Following the murder, Chinthakani police registered a case and launched an extensive investigation. The investigation that led to the arrests combined forensic science, technical analysis and physical evidence, with assistance from experts at the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gandhinagar. Six individuals voluntarily consented to the examinations, which were conducted at the Forensic Science Laboratory, Bengaluru, in Jan. The findings were assessed along with other evidence to generate further leads.