It appears the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments have chosen physical elimination of accused in controversial cases to avoid continued political embarrassments from the opposition parties; and in the process, win the public support.
The suspicious death of 62-year-old Tatika Narayana Rao, a Telugu Desam Party leader and former municipal councillor, by suicide, hours after he was arrested for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old school girl at Tuni in Kakinada district, has given rise to the talk that the Chandrababu Naidu government chose to eliminate him before it becomes a big political issue.
Narayana Rao allegedly died by suicide by jumping into a tank while he was being taken to the local court for judicial remand late in the night.
The body of Tatika Narayana Rao was retrieved from Komati Cheruvu tank on the outskirts of Tuni town on Thursday morning.
“The accused was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with an attempted rape case involving a minor girl. After the mandatory medical examination, the police were escorting him to be presented before the magistrate at around 10.30 pm,” the inspector said.
As they approached Komati Cheruvu, Narayana Rao requested the police to stop the vehicle for a toilet break. When the jeep was halted, he suddenly jumped into the lake, he said, adding that on Thursday morning, the rescue teams retrieved the body of Narayana Rao.
The incident has sparked anger among local residents and political parties alike, with villagers demanding accountability from the school administration for allowing an outsider to take the student out.
A couple of days ago, the Nizamabad police in Telangana, too, chose to eliminate 24-year-old habitual offender Sheikh Riyaz by shooting him dead on the pretext of exchange of fire.
The previous day, Riyaz allegedly stabbed a constable E Pramod to death after he was caught and being taken to the police station in Nizamabad.
He was taken into custody at Sarangapur. He sustained injuries while being apprehended and was admitted to the government hospital in Nizamabad later in the evening.
According to the police, Riaz; who was undergoing treatment at the hospital; attacked the police when he was being escorted back from the bathroom. He tried to snatch a weapon from a constable and opened fire.
The police, acting swiftly in self-defence, retaliated. Riaz died in the exchange of fire, the police said.
