The District Transport Officer (DTO) of Jayashankar Bhupalpally, B Venkanna, was killed in a road accident on Monday morning, June 22, triggering suspicions of a premeditated murder. Following allegations that the incident may have been intentional, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy directed the Transport Department to conduct a thorough inquiry into the death.
The incident occurred on the Bhupalpally–Ghanpur highway under the Ghanpur police station limits. According to reports, at around 9.30 am, Venkanna and his staff were conducting a vehicle inspection outside the Regional Transport Office (RTO) when a speeding coal-laden truck rammed into him, killing him on the spot.
Reports said that Venkanna had been transferred from Jagtial to Jayashankar Bhupalpally district only 20 days ago.
His body was shifted to the Bhupalpally District Government Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Following the incident, Bhupalpally Deputy Superintendent of Police A Sampath Rao, along with his team, rushed to the spot and inspected the scene.
According to a statement issued by the Bhupalpally police, the incident occurred while the DTO was regulating vehicular movement as a seized harvester was being moved into the RTO office premises.
A case has been registered against the truck driver, Md Tasleem, charging him with causing death by negligence.
The opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has alleged that the sand and coal mafias were behind Venkanna’s death. In a statement, BRS leader T Harish Rao urged the government to conduct a comprehensive investigation and take measures to prevent such incidents from recurring.
BRS leader RS Praveen Kumar also issued a similar statement. “I demand that a full scale probe must be ordered into this tragic death of this honest officer who was on duty.” He alleged that Congress leaders were behind the sand and coal mafia. “They are responsible for this death,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy expressed deep shock over Venkanna’s death. “The Chief Minister assured that Venkanna’s family would be supported in every possible way. He also directed Joint Transport Commissioner Chandrashekhar Goud to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the incident and submit a report,” the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a statement.
