Hyderabad: A Telangana CPI leader was killed on the spot Tuesday after unidentified assailants opened fire on him during his morning walk at Malakpet here, police said.
A previous enmity stemming out of a land dispute seems to be the reason behind the killing of K Chandu Naik, police said citing preliminary information.
The assailants came in a car, opened fire on Naik (47), a state council member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), while he was on a morning walk near a park at around 7.30 AM. After they shot multiple rounds, he died on the spot, a senior police official told PTI.
The accused then fled the scene. A police team rushed to the spot and initiated investigation.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East Zone) S Chaitanya Kumar, citing preliminary investigation, told reporters that at least three to four persons were involved in the firing targeting Naik.
Police recovered three fired rounds and two unfired rounds from the spot. Based on the recovery of these, it seems only one weapon was used in the firing. However, further investigation is on, the official added.
He said police were verifying the routes of the car in which the assailants came. CCTV footage in the area was also being analysed to identify the suspects.
The official further said an old rivalry is suspected to be the reason behind the attack.
“The (attack) seems to be over a land issue. He was having a disagreement with some people,” police said adding three persons have emerged as prime suspects. Police are trying to elicit more information from them.
Ten teams were formed to investigate the murder and nab the accused, police said.
The slain Chandu Naik was an accused in a murder case, which was registered at L B Nagar Police Station here in 2022, police said.
No complaint was lodged by the victim regarding any threat to his life, they added.
CPI Telangana unit secretary and MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao condoled the death of Chandu Naik and demanded the arrest of the culprits without delay.
The perpetrators of such crimes have no place in society, he said in a release.
Meanwhile, Chandu Naik’s brother Jaipal said they have filed a complaint with police naming six people.
Jaipal said Chandu Naik had gone for a morning walk at around 7.30 AM when someone called him to discuss something.
When he reached there out of friendship, he was shot dead, he said.
“He (Chandu Naik) didn’t have any clue that this would happen. I have given the names of six people (in the complaint),” Jaipal told PTI Videos.
A party colleague of Chandu Naik told PTI Videos that a woman had called her last week, claiming that there was a threat to Naik’s life from certain individuals.
The caller had asked her to alert Chandu Naik about the threat, she said, adding that Naik had subsequently informed the party office in Hyderabad about the matter.
PTI
