Congress MLA Ragya Naik, representing the tribal constituency of Devarakonda in Nalgonda district, was shot dead by Naxalites in Maddimadugu village of Mahbubnagar district around one pm yesterday.

The killing comes two days after Home Minister T. Devender Goud told the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly that the government was ready to talk to the People's War Group (PWG).

Naik had gone to the village for the week-long 'jatra'(fair) at a temple that was built around a deity worshipped by the local people. Tribals from Nalgonda go there for the annual fair.

Naik prayed at the temple and had gone out and was sitting in a makeshift tent talking to other tribal leaders when they heard a commotion outside. Naik and his gunman Sudhakar and the others stepped out to find out what was happening.

At that point five men, reportedly from the Achampet dalam, which operates in Mahbubnagar district, approached Naik and wanted to know who was the MLA. Naik replied: "I am the MLA".

The five men then opened fire killing the MLA instantly. They snatched the gunman's carbine and fled the area.

The killing of the legislator, the first such incident since then Panchayat Raj minister Madhav Reddy was eliminated in a landmine explosion, in March 1999 has capped a string of violent incidents unleashed by the PWG in recent weeks.

For one, Naik was not on the Naxal's hit-list unlike Madhav Reddy who was tailed and killed in a well-planned and orchestrated explosion. The other strange thing is that it was not the MLA's home district which is why the Naxalites had to find out who the MLA was before shooting him.

Some police officials are putting it down to a case of mistaken identity. What is baffling is that Naik was neither a ruling party MLA – who are more vulnerable in such incidents – nor a high-profile MLA of the Congress party.

The chances that the MLA was a target being minimal, the theory of a mistaken identity is gaining ground.

Police also point out that Naxals hit at "sensational" targets to grab headlines and Naik may have come in handy.

The last few incidents in which the Naxals targeted Heritage Foods, owned by the family of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, the Coca-Cola bottling plant and the granite factory part-owned by federal minister U. Krishnamraju had fetched the PWG headlines.

Naik was a first time MLA and had got elected to the assembly defeating his TDP predecessor who had been Devarakonda's representative for four terms. In a late night statement, the chief minister condemned the "dastardly killing".