TRS leader Phirangi Narayana stoned to death, Telangana's Sultanpur village tense

Tension prevailed in Sultanpur village in Telangana’s Vikarabad on Tuesday morning after Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader Phirangi Narayana was stoned to death. Narayana’s body was found by some of his supporters, who then reportedly clashed with supporters of the Congress party, blaming them for the attack. While local reports say that the murder is due to political rivalry, police say they believe there was a personal angle too.

 

T Anapurna, Vikarabad SP told TNM that they were investigating another angle as Narayana was supporting his aide Mallaya's interest in a woman who was engaged to another person. On Monday, the woman had given a compliant to the police saying Mallaya and Narayana were spreading rumors about her, thus affecting her reputation. A village panchayath was also held on the same day.

 

"On Monday Krishna and the girl's relatives together locked Mallaya out of his house and we suspect they stoned Narayana to death early Tuesday morning. The relatives of Narayana thought, he was killed by Congress workers and attacked two brothers," the SP said.
 

"Seven people have been named as having actively participated in the stoning. Another 12 persons were present during the incident, we are verifying their role. We are yet to ascertain if there is a political motive. There is no caste angle to this as they were all BCs,” said T Annapurna, Vikarabad SP.  
 

Ever since two of Narayana’s supporters switched camps and defected to the Congress, there has been tension between the two groups. A clash between the two groups was reported on Sunday. The two Congress workers who were injured on Tuesday have been shifted to hospital.

 

A case has not been registered yet. Sensing a law and order situation in the area, security has been beefed up and the police are trying to control the situation.
 
The attack on the leader comes a month before Assembly elections are scheduled to take place in the state. Telangana goes to the polls on December 7 and the results are to be announced on December 11.