Five murders and counting: Fear rules Jagtial's Korutla constituency as elections draw near

Telangana: Korutla constituency in Jagtial district has been rocked by a series of murders in the past 45 days. Five people have been killed in separate incidents, and the police are yet to ascertain the motive behind the murders.

Karam Komireddy, an advocate at Telangana High Court who is also an activist said, “There’s a total breakdown of law and order in Korutla constituency. Four murders took place between August 4 and 20. Previously a woman farmer was murdered in July.”

Series of Murders

The first murder in the last two months took place on July 15. Mettu Narsu, 55, was found in a pool of blood near her agricultural field in Godur of Ibrahimpatnam Mandal on Saturday evening. Her family members suspected that she had been killed by robbers.

Narsu had gone to work in the field near the sub-station on the outskirts of the village in the morning. When she did not return home in the night, her family members searched for her and found her body. She had suffered a severe head injury. Her gold ornaments were missing, leading her family members to suspect that she had been robbed and killed.

The second took place on August 4, A man was killed in Korutla town on the suspicion that he was having an extra-marital affair with the wife of another man. The deceased, Sheikh Sameer (23), was found dead in the D-40 canal on August 4.

Police investigated the matter and arrested two men, Ishwar and Utnoor Balashankar. The accused told the police that they killed Sameer because they suspected that he was having an affair with Ishwar's wife.

Police recovered two cell phones and two two-wheelers from the accused. They have been produced in court and remanded to custody.

On August 8, P. Lakshmirajam, the husband of a councilor belonging to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), was murdered in broad daylight in Korutla, Jagtial. He was attacked with knives by two unidentified persons when he was standing in front of a roadside hotel. Lakshmirajam was critically injured and was shifted to a hospital in Karimnagar, where he succumbed.

Police said Lakshmirajam was having tea at the hotel in the morning when the two men armed with knives attacked him. The attack triggered panic in the area. The assailants escaped on a two-wheeler.

A profusely bleeding Lakshmirajam was shifted to a hospital in Karimnagar, where he succumbed. Police registered a case and launched a hunt for the killers. A police officer said that they were investigating the motive behind the murder.

On August 16, Razak, a native of Ilapur, Korutla Mandal was killed brutally. Razzak was a Youth Congress leader of the Korutla constituency and was beaten to death by unknown attackers on the outskirts of Metpally at 7 p.m. He was returning to his house after attending a Congress meeting in Nizamabad.

On August 20, Kannam Satish, a young man from Indiranagar in Metpally, was brutally murdered. He was beaten to death with bricks by two men, Jakkam Rajesh and Naveen, near a bar on the outskirts of the town.

According to the Police, Satish was talking to his friend Nikhil at a shop around 11:20 p.m. when Rajesh and Naveen approached them. They took Satish and Nikhil to a nearby room and attacked Satish with bricks. Nikhil managed to escape and inform Satish's family.

Police reached the spot and shifted Satish's body to the government hospital. A case has been registered and the police are looking for the accused. The reasons for the murder are not yet known.

The series of murders has caused panic in the area, and the people are demanding that the police take action to catch the killers and bring them to justice.

Breakdown of Law and Order

Lawyer Karam Komireddy said that the murders were a sign of the breakdown of law and order in the constituency. He demanded that the police take immediate action to catch the killers and bring them to justice. He also demanded that the government take steps to improve the law and order situation in the area.

Karam Komireddy said, “Two murders within 24 hours. The police are yet to ascertain the motive behind the murders. CCTV cameras are not working, and this needs to be addressed. Are there any measures taken or has the local authority been called for a review meeting? The police and the local authority need to take measures to prevent future crimes. So far, not even one case has been solved. The MLA of the constituency has been absent, and he needs to take responsibility for the people in his constituency.”

He said Razak was murdered on August 16. “He was in the hospital he succumbed to the injuries he had to undergo a very major operation but he did notsurvive. Indeed he was killed on August 16 Only two arrests have taken place to date, but surprisingly police didn’t arrest them, but they surrendered before the cops. But the police has still not been in a position to arrest the prime accused,” he said

“I don't want to politicize it, but all these accused have certain political connections. I’m not saying political murders, but there are settlement gangs here. ganja weed is everywhere, it is rampant. You can find weed everywhere and the local MLA is not around,” said Komireddy.

Under investigation

Police said they are investigating all the cases. Reportedly they appealed to the people to cooperate with the police and provide any information that they may have about the murders.

However, calls to the Superintendent of Police went unanswered. This has further angered the people, who are demanding that the government take immediate action to improve the law and order situation in the area.