The murder of a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader in Kadapa has stoked controversy in the state, with the TDP alleging that he was killed by YSRCP leaders for speaking against their alleged corrupt activities in Proddatur constituency. On Tuesday, TDP Kadapa district spokesperson Nandam Subbaiah was killed in Somulavaripalli village in Proddutur. In the days leading up to his death, Subbaiah had made several statements to the media alleging that Proddatur YSRCP MLA Rachamallu Siva Prasad Reddy and his brother-in-law were engaged in corrupt activities. Following his death, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and his family have alleged that local YSRCP leaders are responsible for his death. YSRCP leaders have refuted these claims, and noted that the deceased, Subbaiah, had been booked in several criminal cases in the past.
Subbaiah had reportedly gone to Somulavaripalli to visit the location where house site pattas were being distributed to beneficiaries under the YSRCP government’s ‘Pedalandariki Illu’ (housing for the poor) scheme. In recent statements made to the press, Nandam Subbaiah, an advocate who belongs to the Padmashali (weavers’) community, had called the Proddatur MLA and his brother-in-law Bangaru Munireddy a bane on the people of Proddatur. Alleging that they had accumulated huge amounts of wealth over the past few years through corrupt activities, he said, “You both are corrupt, I have evidence to prove it. Will you leave the town if I show proof?”
Watch: Murdered TDP leader Nandam Subbaiah alleging corrupt activities by local YSRCP leaders
Countering allegations made by the YSRCP leaders over local TDP leaders’s involvement in cricket betting, Subbaiah alleged that the MLA’s brother-in-law was running for the cricket betting networks in the region. He also alleged that the YSRCP leaders had provoked youngsters from Scheduled Caste communities to abuse and threaten him a BC (Backward Classes) leader.
Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu alleged that the local YSRCP leaders are responsible for the murder. Alleging that there was a rise in attacks on TDP leaders and workers under the YSRCP government, he termed the incident a state-sponsored murder.
“Within 24 hours of writing to the Chief Minister and Director General of Police about the declining security in the state in the wake of the Tadipatri incident, a leader from weavers’ community was brutally murdered,” Naidu tweeted.
Naidu said, “Nandam Subbaiah had openly talked about the YSRCP MLA and his brother-in-law’s involvement in illegal sand mining and cricket betting, because of which he was killed. He was murdered when he went to the house site patta distribution program and questioned corruption in the housing scheme,” Naidu alleged.
“The role of YSRCP leaders in this murder must be inquired into immediately and strict action must be taken against the culprits,” he said.
కడప జిల్లా తెలుగుదేశం పార్టీ అధికార ప్రతినిధి నందం సుబ్బయ్య దారుణ హత్యను తీవ్రంగా ఖండిస్తున్నాను. ఏపీలో శాంతి భద్రతలు క్షీణించాయంటూ తాడిపత్రి ఘటనపై ముఖ్యమంత్రికి, డిజిపికి లేఖలు రాసి 24 గంటలు దాటకుండానే చేనేత కుటుంబానికి చెందిన నాయకుడు సుబ్బయ్యను కిరాతకంగా హత్య చేసారు(1/3) pic.twitter.com/GgukVX7vaV
— N Chandrababu Naidu #StayHomeSaveLives (@ncbn) December 29, 2020
Subbaiah’s wife also told media that the family suspects that the YSRCP Proddatur MLA and his brother-in-law are responsible for the murder. “A few men kept circling our house (before he was killed). The same people have abused him in the past. A rape case was also filed on my husband by Prasad Reddy (Proddatur MLA) and Bangaru Reddy (his brother-in-law),” she alleged.
Police have said that while they have zeroed in on around five suspects, no arrests have been made so far. When asked if the murder was triggered by political rivarly, Proddatur Urban Circle Inspector Subba Rao, who is investigating the case, told TNM, “We are exploring all angles. There were 14 cases booked on the deceased, so we have to explore whether it was due to personal or political rivalry, finance (debt) issues, or because of an extramarital affair.”
Proddatur DySP (Deputy Superintendent of Police) Y Prasada Rao told The Hindu that some of the cases against Subbaiah involved serious offences like attempt to murder, as well as prohibited gaming activities.
YSRCP leaders have denied the TDP’s allegations, terming them irresponsible and baseless. They accused the TDP of leveraging the victim’s BC background to claim there was an attack on BCs, and added that many of the cases booked on the victim, including criminal cases, happened under the TDP’s term.