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CPI leader Chandu Rathod shot dead during morning walk in Hyderabad, attackers used chilli powder: Report
Chandu Rathod, a CPI leader, was shot dead in Hyderabad's Shalivahana Nagar Park. The attackers, who used chilli powder to blind him, fled in a Maruti Swift.
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Chandu Rathod was reportedly shot dead by unidentified assailants during his morning walk at Shalivahana Nagar Park in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Chandu Rathod was a member of the party’s Hyderabad city committee.
According to Malakpet police, a group of three to four attackers carried out the shooting. The motive behind the murder is yet to be established, The Indian Express reported.
Preliminary probe suggests the attackers arrived in a Maruti Swift around 7:30am. They allegedly threw chilli powder in Chandu Rathod’s eyes before opening fire at close range. Despite nearly two dozen people being present in the park at the time, the attackers managed to flee in the same vehicle, the report added.
Local reports suggested that the CPI leader, along with his wife and son, was out on a morning walk when the assailants opened fire on him.
The victim’s wife told police that Chandu Rathod had an ongoing dispute with a man named Rajesh, a CPI (ML) member from Devaruppala.
Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
Originally from Narsaipalli in Balmuru mandal of Nagarkurnool district, Rathod had been living with his family in Chaitanyapuri.
Senior police officials and a forensic team arrived at the scene shortly after the incident. Investigators are reviewing CCTV camera footage from the area to track the suspects and are probing whether Rathod had any personal or professional rivals.
Sources said the victim was also involved in the real estate business, and police are looking into the possibility of a property dispute behind the killing.
