A police official probing two sensational murder cases went missing in Telangana's Nalgonda town on Friday

M Venkateswarlu, circle inspector at II Town Police station in Nalgonda, disappeared after leaving his weapon and official mobile phone at the police station. His personal mobile phone was also switched off and the efforts of senior officials to reach him proved futile till evening.

The police official was probing two sensational cases including murder of the husband of Nalgonda municipal chairperson Boddupally Lakshmi belonging to opposition Congress.

Bodupally Srinivas was murdered by few people near his residence on the night of January 24. He was a close follower of former minister and Congress legislator Komatireddy Venkatreddy. The Congress has alleged that leaders of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) are behind the killing as they were pressurizing him to switch loyalties.

The town was rocked by another brutal murder on January 29. The decapitated head of a 25-year-old P. Ramesh was found kept on the wall of a roadside religious structure. Police later recovered the torso from another place. 

Venkateswarlu had reportedly told his close associates that he was under pressure from his seniors on the one side and politicians on the other.

A senior police official, however, said the inspector may be facing some personal problems. While he stayed at a rented house in Amulya Colony in Nalgonda, his wife and two children were residing in Hyderabad, reportedly for the purpose of the children’s education. 

According to reports, analysis of CCTV footage showed that Venkateswarlu was last seen driving along with one person in a car, and was heading towards Miryalaguda.

Just earlier this week, the Nalgonda police arrested three more accused, who were on the run in the murder case of the local Congress leader.

Addressing reporters, Venkateshwarlu had said that 8 of the 11 accused had already been arrested.

IANS inputs