Gangster Suri murder accused Bhanu arrested

Hyderabad, April 21 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Police Saturday arrested most wanted fugitive Bhanu Kiran alias Bhanu, the key accused in the murder of dreaded gangster Suryanarayana Reddy alias Maddelachervu Suri.

Additional Director General of Police, Crime Investigation Department (CID), S.V. Ramna Murthy told reporters Saturday evening that Bhanu was arrested at Zaheerbad in Medak district at 10 a.m. when he had come there to collect money from a person, whose identity has been kept confidential.

Police denied that Bhanu surrendered to them. Bhanu appeared cool and kept smiling when he was produced before the media persons. He refused to speak.

Soon after Bhanu's arrest, Leader of Opposition and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu alleged that Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy's son has links with Bhanu. Police, however, denied the allegation.

The police officials, who continued questioning Bhanu, will produce him before a magistrate on Sunday.

Ramna Murthy showed to media a revolver seized from Bhanu, who used the weapon to shot dead Suri in his car in Hyderabad on Jan 3 last year.

The police official said Bhanu killed his boss following a dispute between the two over financial matters.

Suri, a key accused in former state minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Paritala Ravi's murder, had threatened to kill Bhanu, which angered him and he hatched a conspiracy with his associates to eliminate him.

According to police, Bhanu had Rs.400,000 with him when he escaped after the murder. He was moving around for over a year and was reportedly moving around by changing his name, attire and appearance.

The police official said Bhanu visited Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Madhya Pradesh. He had taken a house on rent in Madhya Pradesh in June last year and had since been staying there.

While four associates of Bhanu were arrested, he was on the run, evading arrest.

A native of Annatapur district, Bhanu was involved in 15 criminal cases, six of them in Hyderabad. He was playing a key role in settling land disputes in and around Hyderabad and was allegedly involved in extortion.

Ravi, a former minister and leader of the state's main opposition TDP, was gunned down in Anantapur town Jan 24, 2005, allegedly by Suri's followers.

Suri, an accused in 1997 Jubliee Hills bomb blast case, had come out of jail in 2010.

The factional rivalry between the families of Ravi and Suri hit the national headlines in 2010 following the release of "Rakta Charitra", a multilingual film by Ram Gopal Varma.