Rs 15 Cr 'supari' to kill TRS minister V Srinivas Goud; 8 arrested

Hyderabad: In a startling revelation, the Cyberabad police have arrested 8 men -alleged of conspiring to kill TRS minister for Excise and Prohibition and Tourism- V Srinivas Goud. The conspirators allegedly offered a sum of Rs 15 Crore to assassinate the minister and his brother V. Srikanth Goud however the attempt was foiled, said Cyberabad Police Commissioner M. Stephen Raveendra.

The accused include, Nagaraju, Raghu @ Raghavendra Raju, Varda Yadaiah (52), Bhandekar Vishwanath Rao (43) and Chalvug Nagaraju. But, what has kicked up a political storm is that few accused in the case were arrested from former TRS MP turned BJP leader MP Jithender Reddy's servant quarters in Delhi.

Sequence of events that led to the arrest

The lid blew off when two men Farooq Ahmed and Hyder Ali filed a case at Petbasheerabad falling under Cyberabad police commissionerate.

On 18th December 2021: Mohammed Farooq Ahmed, a resident of Shamshabad went to attend the Excise court in Mahbubnagar. Outside the court, Raghu and Nagaraju introduced themselves. They said they were embroiled in a problem with one Ghulam Hyder Ali and that they wanted some weapons to kill him. Farooq Ahmed ignored the request since he knew Ali well. Farooq Ahmed also informed Hyder Ali that his life was in danger and helped him move to a safer place, in the SVS lodge at Suchitra of Kompally.

On 23rd February 2022" Farooq and HyderAli, who were temporarily residing in a guest house at Suchithra, stepped out to have food. At around 2 PM the duo were attacked by one Nagaraju and his associates, they tried to kill them. Raghu and Nagaraju chased them with knives however, Farooq Ahmed and Hyder Ali escaped but sought police action. The duo fled and later filed a complaint at Petbasheerabad Police station.

During the course of investigation, cops had taken into custody C Nagaraju- collection manager in Dhani Financial services, Bhandekar Vishwanath Rao and Vardha Yadiah, all from Mahbub Nagar. During interrogation the trio confessed that they were acting on the behalf of Raghavendar Raju @ Raghu.

The prime accused Raghavedar Raju a businessman, his brother Nagaraju run a bar and are engaged in real-estate. The brother bore a grudge against Hyder Ali, since he obstructed their business and they had planned to eliminate him. The brother hatched a plan with Vishwanadha Rao and Varada Yadaiah, who returned purchased weapons from Uttar Pradesh.

Following a complaint, police launched a manhunt to arrest the four and ended up at BJP leader A. P Jitender's Reddy's servant quarters where the four accused were found. During the interrogation, prime accused Raghavendra Raju spilled the beans that, they hatched a plan to kill the TRS Minister V Srinivas Goud and a sum of Rs 15 crore was offered for the same.

The arrest of the 8 men has kicked up a political storm in the state. The reason behind the conspiracy to kill the minister is yet to be ascertained, the investigation is on, said Cyberabad Commissioner. It is significant to note that many questions posed to the commissioner went un answered, more details in regard to this case is awaited.

Former MP and BJP leader Jitender Reddy's connect in the case:

On March 1st, BJP leader A.P Jitender Reddy took to social media to inform that his personal driver Thapa and one Munnur Ravi from Mahbubnagar were kidnapped from servant quarters by unknown men. According to the complaint filed, four people were snuffed into a car in the national capital - New Delhi during late hours. The four were reportedly staying at flat no 105 South Avenue.

The Suchitra murder attempt and Delhi connection was unveiled when one of the accused revealed it in his confession report that, "In order to evade arrest Raghavendra Raju, Madhusudhan Raju, Munnuru Ravi and Amarendra traveled to Vizag from Mahabubnagar and later escaped to Delhi. They were taking shelter in the servant quarters by former MP Jithender Reddy driver Thapha and PA Raju.

Speaking to NewsMeter, BJP leader Jitender Reddy said, "Munnur Ravi (accused) is from my constituency. Whenever he travels to Delhi, he requests for accommodation. The same happened on March 1st, while I was away. I was unaware of the three others who accompanied him. During late hours, men in civil dress picked them up. I have no clue of the plan and their accomplices. I wasn't even present at the guest house in Delhi".