Eight get life term for murder of Telegu Desam leader

Hyderabad: Anantapur district sessions court yesterday convicted eight people to life imprisonment in the sensational Paritala Ravindra murder case.

The court delivered the verdict amid tight security. The judgement came after a six-year-long trial during one of the accused Rammohan Reddy turned approver.

Those sentenced to life imprisonment are P. Narayana Reddy, B. Rekamaiah, Ranganarayakulu, Vadde Kondaiah, Vadde Srinivas, O.B. Reddy, T. Peddi Reddy and V. Hanumantha Reddy.

The four acquitted are Patola Govardhan Reddy, G.V. Reddy, Anand Reddy and Rama Swamy.

Paritala Ravidra, a dreaded Naxalite who later on joined the Telegu Desam Party (TDP), was brutally murdered on January 24, 2005 sparking violence in many parts of the state.

Assailants attacked him with bombs and fired at him near the district TDP office in Anantapur.

TDP had blamed senior Congress party leaders for the murder. The late chief minister Y.S. Rashekhar Reddy responded to the allegations by handing over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigations.

The court observed that J. Srinivas Reddy alias Muddu Srinu deserved the death sentence but he was was killed during the course of the trial.

Similarly another prime accused Suryanarayana Reddy alias Suri was also killed by his henchman in Hyderabad a few months ago and a third accused T. Konda Reddy also died. Four other accused in the case were acquitted because of insufficient evidence against them.

Muddu Sinu, who was arrested by the police after he was injured in an accidental bomb blast in a lodge in Hyderabad, was later done to death in his cell in Anantapur jail. The police said an inmate killed him after an altercation.