Mallela Om Prakash, who murdered a key accused in the assassination of former Andhra Pradesh minister and TDP leader Paritala Ravi, has died due to ill health in Visakhapatnam Central Jail, said the police. Om Prakash was serving life sentence in Vishakapatnam central prison for the murder of Srinivas Reddy or Moddu Seenu, the accused in the murder of Paritala Ravi, in Anantapur jail in 2008. According to jail authorities, Om Prakash complained of breathing problems on Saturday night and died early Sunday while undergoing treatment at King George Hospital (KGH).
Visakhapatnam Jail Superintendent S Rahul stated that Om Prakash was suffering from kidney-related ailments and was on dialysis for a long time. After dialysis at the KGH on Friday, he was shifted back to the jail. However, the following day, he developed breathing problems and died of suspected renal failure. The official said they were waiting for the autopsy report to know the exact cause of death.
Om Prakash was in Anantapur district jail at the time of murdering Moddu Seenu. Om Prakash was under trial in a case at the time. The police authorities had then claimed that an argument over keeping the light on till late night in the jail resulted in a brawl. Om Prakash allegedly bludgeoned Moddu Seenu with a cement dumbbell when he was asleep. Seenu died instantly. He also allegedly pierced an iron rod in his eyes and cut off the ears of the victim.
According to reports, Om Prakash was an ordinary lorry cleaner, who turned into an inter-state dacoit and became involved in three murder cases.
In 2010, a court in Anantapur sentenced Om Prakash to life for the murder of Moddu Seenu and he was later shifted to Nellore Jail, and from there to Visakhapatnam Jail.
Moddu Seenu’s murder in jail had raised many doubts, especially as to how a dumbbell and iron rod reached the prison.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which was in the Opposition then, had alleged that Congress leader Gangula Suryanarayana Reddy alias Maddelachervu Suri was the mastermind behind Paritala Ravi’s assassination and got Seenu, too, killed.
The Congress leader, who was lodged in the same jail, had allegedly threatened to kill Seenu if he turned an approver. TDP has also alleged that the Congress power corridor worked to eliminate Seenu before he spilt the beans to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Suryanarayana Reddy was later shot dead by his aide Bhanu Kiran in Hyderabad while they were returning home after meeting a lawyer on January 3, 2011. Bhanu, who was later sentenced to life, had told the police that he killed the Congress leader following differences over some financial matters.
Paritala Ravi, a former minister and a notorious factional leader, was gunned down in Anantapur on January 24, 2005.
The factions led by Paritala Ravi and Suranarayana Reddy were engaged in a long battle over supremacy in faction-ridden Rayalaseema region and their factional rivalry had hit the national headlines in 2010 following the release of Rakta Charitra, a multilingual film by controversial film director Ram Gopal Varma.