A pesticide trader, who is believed to be a local cadre of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), was stabbed to death allegedly by Maoists at his house in Alubaka village in Venkatapuram mandal of Telangana's tribal-dominated Mulugu district around Saturday midnight.
The deceased was identified as M. Bheemeshwara Rao, 48,of Alubaka.
Sources said a group of six persons came to Mr. Rao’s house around midnight and claiming they were residents of a neighbouring village said they needed money to go to a hospital. When Mr. Rao refused to open the door, they broke it open and barged into his house.
His wife pleaded with them to leave him but he was dragged out of the house by one of the rebels. Then they allegedly stabbed him with a knife, inflicting grievous multiple injuries on his body. When a neighbour raised an alarm, they fled leaving a letter at the spot.
Mr. Rao succumbed to the stab wounds on the way to hospital a short while later. He is survived by wife and three children.
In the letter bearing the name of CPI (Maoist) Venkatapuram-Wajedu committee, the rebels alleged that Mr. Rao was fleecing villagers by selling fertilisers at exorbitant prices and implicating youth in false cases by using his clout in the ruling party locally.
Meanwhile, a police official of the Agency mandal said: “The Maoists had earlier issued repeated threats to him demanding party funds, but when he did not budge, they killed him brutally at his house on Saturday midnight.”
