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Lawyer couple hacked to death. Had sought police protection months ago
A video clip of lawyer Vamana Rao, lying on the road profusely bleeding with multiple stab injuries, telling the onlookers that someone named Kunta Srinu from Gunjamadugu village had attacked him and his wife went viral on social media.
An advocate couple, who sought protection alleging threatening calls from the police, was murdered by unknown miscreants in Telangana’s Peddapalli district on Wednesday afternoon, the police said.
The incident happened at around 3 pm in front of a petrol bunk at Kalvacharla village of Ramagiri block, when the couple – Gattu Vaman Rao (53) and P V Nagamani (50) – was returning from Manthani town after arguing a case in the local court. They were practising lawyers at the Telangana High Court in Hyderabad.
Ramagundam commissioner of police V Satyanarayana said the miscreants waylaid the couple and hacked them to death.
“While Rao got down from the vehicle and collapsed on the road, Nagamani collapsed in her seat. Both breathed their last while being shifted to Peddapalli government hospital in an ambulance,” the SP said.
The driver of the car, who was an eyewitness to the gory murder, is being questioned by the police.
A video clip of Vamana Rao, lying on the road profusely bleeding with multiple stab injuries, telling the onlookers that someone named Kunta Srinu from Gunjamadugu village had attacked him and his wife went viral on social media.
The SP, too, said the advocate had named Kunta Srinu, a local Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader, before succumbing to injuries. “We understand Vaman Rao had a dispute with Kunta Srinu over a temple issue. Srinu is absconding. We have formed six special teams of police to launch a manhunt for the killers. We shall probe the case irrespective of their stature and political links,” he said.
The couple had been arguing cases against local political leaders in Peddapalli district, apart from the infamous case of custodial death of a Dalit Seelam Rangaiah in Manthani police station in May 2020.
In November last, the couple approached the high court seeking protection as they were getting threatening calls from the police. On February 8 this year, the state high court issued a direction to director general of police M Mahender Reddy to ensure that the advocate couple was not harassed by the police.
Vaman Rao’s brother Indrasekhar told reporters that he was suspecting the hand of Kunta Srinivas, who was allegedly involved in land encroachments, against which his brother was fighting in the courts.
Congress MLA from Manthani D Sridhar Babu demanded a CBI investigation into the killing of Vaman Rao and his wife Nagamani, as the couple was facing threat from the police in the lock-up death case.
Telangana bar council strongly condemned the murder of Vaman Rao and Nagamani. “We demand that the police act swiftly and arrest the culprits. We also demand security for the advocates who are arguing sensitive cases,” G Jitender Reddy, bar council member, said.
