Victim’s dad also wants CBI probe

Expressing apprehensions that the police may not probe the murder of the lawyer-couple Gattu Vaman Rao and P.V. Nagamani in a fair manner, his father, Gattu Kishan Rao, has filed a writ petition seeking a direction to the state government to transfer the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The couple was killed in broad daylight near Manthani on February 17. The case was registered with the Ramagiri police. In his petition, Kishan Rao stated that Vaman Rao and Nagamani were eliminated by anti-social elements in collusion with Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leaders and police officials as the couple was questioning the illegal activities resorted to by Putta Madhukar, the zilla parishad chairman of Peddapalli, and his wife Shailaja, chairperson of Manthani municipality.

The petitioner informed the court that Madhukar and his wife developed animosity towards Vaman Rao and Nagamani as their illegal activities were questioned by the advocate couple.

Nagamani had filed an election petition challenging the election of Madhukar in a lower court in Karimnagar and brought to light the lock-up death of Sheelam Rangiah, who had information regarding the sand and mining mafia in Manthani. Nagamani had previously addressed a letter to the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, praying that the alleged lock-up death be taken up suo motu.

Following the alleged nexus between TRS leaders and police, the petitioner expressed fear that crucial evidence collected in the murder case could be tampered with and the real culprits would be left to go scot-free.