With a number of political leaders of various parties allegedly being connected to slain Maoist-turned-gangster Nayeem, Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao is set to take action against leaders from the ruling TRS, reports P Hareesh in The New Indian Express.
According to the report, while some leaders have denied any connection to Nayeem, intelligence officials have told the CM that sufficient evidence exists to prove their connections.
The report quotes one officer as saying that a number of elected representatives have benefitted from Nayeem’s activities or used the gangster in settling disputes in their favour.
Party sources have reportedly said that in order to shield the ruling party from accusations of bias, the CM is set to begin cleaning the house. “To go ahead with taking action against leaders of other parties, the government should first prove that the investigation is going fairly and there is no vendetta against other party leaders. To make this a point, the CM is of the view that talking against his own party leaders and elected representatives will put to rest all the allegations of vendetta,” a senior party leader told TNIE.
Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team investigating the case, is on the trail of Sheshanna, a close associate of Nayeem’s. On Sunday, the team reportedly detained two persons, one of whom worked as Sheshanna’s driver. According to the report, the police detained Raju and Narsimha in the Kushiaguda station limits following a tip-off. Narasimha, Sheshanna’s driver, is suspected to have information on the whereabouts of the absconding gangster.
The killing of Nayeem alias Nayeemuddin alias Balanna in an encounter in Shadnagar town of Mahabubnagar district of the state on August 8 has brought to light a huge nexus, and a growing number of cases are being filed and arrests made.
On September 4, it was reported that over 60 cases had been booked in connection with Nayeem’s activities, on a range of charges from arms possession and land grabbing to intimidation, assault and murder. It was also reported that over 50 person have been arrested on various charges in the case.
Earlier, a police remand report had named 66 journalists as receiving cash from Nayeem to ensure coverage of a Ganesha festival organised by the gangster in 2015.