Knife Used To Stab Bhaskara Rao Was Laced With Cyanide

MACHILIPATNAM: The district headquarter town of Machilipatnam is in the grip of high tension following the gruesome murder of YSR Congress Party local leader Moka Bhaskara Rao. A close aide of Andhra Pradesh Transport and Information Minister Perni Nani, Bhaskara Rao was stabbed to death on Monday morning at the local municipal fish market by two unidentified assailants.

In what appears to be a pre-meditated assault on the minister’s close aide, the killers used a knife that was laced with cyanide to kill Bhaskara Rao. The YSRCP leader, grievously injured in the incident, later succumbed to the stab wounds at the government hospital here. The attackers waiting in ambush and then quickly launching their attack before fleeing the place was captured by the CCTV cameras installed in the vicinity.

The two assailants, who are being pursued by the police using the CCTV camera footage, are suspected to be the henchmen of a local former councilor of the Telugu Desam Party. Eye witnesses claimed that two persons took part in the attack. The brutal murder is being seen as part of a well-planned conspiracy to eliminate all those who are known to be strong supporters of minister Perni Nani who also hails from Machilipatnam.

PERNI NANI IN TEARS

Minister Perni Nani who paid floral tributes to Rao was overcome with emotions on seeing the lifeless body of his closest follower. He was reduced to tears when he visited Bhaskara Rao’s house. The minister also tried to console Rao’s family members.

Tension gripped the town following the gruesome murder of the YSRCP leader even as the police registered a case and began their investigation. Earlier, hundreds of YSRCP activists converged on the government hospital here on learning about the attack on Bhaskara Rao. Police teams were deployed heavily in front of the hospital as the angry followers of Bhaskara Rao and the minister shouted slogans and demanded action against the culprits. Amid heightened tension, District Superintendent of Police Ravindranath Babu visited the hospital and took stock of the situation.