A toddy trader and an RTI activist belonging to the Congress party was shot dead in Dharmapuri in Telangana's Jagtial district in the late hours of Wednesday.
The deceased has been identified as Satyanarayana Goud, a resident of Hyderabad’s Musheerabad area.
According to local media sources, an unidentified person fired at Goud from point blank range, leaving him to die in a pool of blood near a liquor outlet in the town. Police have collected the empty shells and other forensic evidence from the scene of the crime.
Satyanaryana, a liquor trader was reportedly part of the Congress party's OBC cell. Reports also suggest that Goud ran a liquor trade in Mumbai earlier but had spats with competitors, which even went till court.
Satyanarayana had filed several RTI petitions in Mumbai with the Maharashtra excise department, alleging that toddy traders from Telangana had settled in the coastal city and were selling adulterated toddy, according to reports.
He had been receiving threats since then and had even reportedly met with top officials of the Telangana state government, demanding security.
Shockingly, the incident took place hours after he met with officials of the Dharmapuri police and claimed that his life was under threat.
The victim’s brother-in-law, who had accompanied him to Dharmapuri, speaking to local media, claimed that there was a heated exchange between Satyanarayana and one accused, identified as Venkatesh.
When contacted, Jagitial DSP K Badraiah told TNM that they had received the information about the incident at around 10:45 pm.
“The incident apparently took place when he got down from his car. We are probing the case, an eye witness is being questioned, and its being investigated from all angles,” the police officer said.
The DSP also said that a case had been registered under relevant sections and the accused would be nabbed soon.