Accused in former Andhra minister's murder killed in jail

Hyderabad, Nov 9 (IANS) A key accused in the murder of former Andhra Pradesh minister Paritala Ravi was allegedly killed by a co-prisoner in Anantapur district jail early Sunday, police said.

Julakanti Srinivasa Reddy alias Moddu Seenu died on the spot during a clash with an undertrial around 4.30 a.m., according to the police.

Om Prakash, a member of a robbers gang, hit Seenu on the head with dumbells (used for physical exercises) resulting in his death. He also bit the ears of the vctim.

The police said they were questioning Om Prakash and four others lodged in the same cell.

The incident has shocked the authorities and given a new twist to Paritala Ravi's murder and the factional violence in Rayalseema region.

Family members of Moddu Seenu alleged that the murder was pre-planned as he had turned an approver in the case.

The main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) blamed the Congress government for Seenu's killing, saying it was aimed at wiping out evidence in the murder of its leader Paritala Ravi.

They also claimed Congress leader Suryanarayana Reddy alias Maddela Cheruvu Suri, the alleged mastermind in the Ravi murder case, got Seenu eliminated. Suri, who was lodged at the same jail, had allegedly threatened Seenu for turning an approver.

Paritala Ravi, a former minister and a notorious factional leader, was gunned down in Anantapur town Jan 24, 2005. His family members and the TDP had blamed Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy's son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and Panchayat Raj Minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy for the murder.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the murder of Paritala Ravi, who was blamed for killing several Congress leaders.

Suri had earlier made an attempt to kill Paritala Ravi in November 1997 at Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad. Though Ravi escaped unhurt, 25 peoples were killed and many injured in the bomb blast.

The Rayalseema region comprising Anantapur, Kadpa, Chittoor and Kurnool is notorious for factional violence. Factions fighting for supremacy in villages have been engaged in bloody fighting for years.

The factional violence took a new turn when the Congress and TDP, the two main political parties, started backing the groups in late 1980s. The violence has claimed over 400 lives in the last decade.