Hours after a Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) leader was hacked to death early on Saturday morning, MLA T Venkat Rao’s visit to G Kothapalli village to pay his respects to the leader’s family ended in high drama as Rao was attacked by angry villagers and forced to hide inside the village school for four hours, after which he was rescued by the police. According to the police, Ganji Prasad, the sarpanch of G Kothapalli village who belonged to the YSRCP, was attacked by two persons when he stepped out to purchase milk at around 7 am on Saturday. Prasad died on the spot. Police suspect that faction rivalry within the YSRCP was the motive. Hours later, when Rao, an MLA from Gopalapuram in Eluru district, visited Prasad’s family, a large group of angry villagers gathered and started heckling him. The villagers accused him of supporting the YSRCP faction members who had allegedly plotted to kill Prasad. Though the MLA tried to reason with the villagers, they surrounded him and started manhandling him. With the situation getting out of hand, the MLA’s personal security officers bundled him into the village school and locked the doors. It took nearly four hours for additional police forces to reach the village. The police then sneaked the MLA out after making him change his shirt so that villagers would not notice him. The police created a diversion and the MLA rode pillion on a police official’s motorcycle till they rode out of the village. Rao then got into another vehicle and left. Prasad’s family has alleged that a Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) member was involved in the murder. Eluru Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma said that they have taken the family’s statement and are investigating the case. At least three persons have been taken into custody.
