TDP leader found dead

Telugu Desam Party leader Chalasani Venkateswara Rao,alias Pandu,was found murdered in an apartment at Madhuranagar near Yousufugda this morning. Police said his naked body was found lying on the floor in a pool of blood with several stab injuries.

Pandu,who hails from Krishna District,and had unsuccessfully contested Assembly elections three times,losing in 2009 by 170 votes.

Police are looking to question his real estate business partner Mahendra Reddy,whom he met when he was lodged in a jail in connection with a murder case.Pandu was one of the accused in the murder of the Congress MLA Vangaveti Mohan Ranga in 1988.

Police Commissioner A K Khan said the murder could be a fallout of real estate deal turning sour.