Hyderabad, April 12: Four persons involved in the kidnap and murder of a painter from Nalgonda were on Monday arrested by the Task Force sleuths.
The nabbed are members of a gang run by a former associate of Nayeemuddin, a former naxalite, whose name has figured in several killings including the recent murder of TRS politburo member Sambasivudu in Nalgonda district.
The kidnap and murder came to light during the investigation into the killing of Sambasivudu, police said.
The gang’s kingpin, Syed Asghar Hussain alias Asif of Bhongir, was once an associate of Nayeemuddin and was involved in many criminal cases.
He later become a councillor of Bhongir municipality in Nalgonda with the support of Nayeemuddin but parted ways with him due to differences.
Apprehending attacks by Nayeemuddin, Asif formed his own gang with his relatives Iqbal and Baba and four others – Mohd Amer, P Jithender Reddy, U Satish and G Sridhar Reddy, all from Bhongir.
Task Force DCP V B Kamalasan Reddy said Nayeemuddin’s gang members Shakeel, Md Jahangir and others beat up Baba at Bhongir a few days back and even damaged his fast food centre.
Asif’s gang planned to take revenge and targeted Jahangir. On February 17, Asif’s gang kidnapped Jahangir in a car and took him to an isolated place at Seeta Nagar where they beat him to death with stones. They then dumped the victim’s body in the Nallacheruvu lake at Uppal.
The Uppal police found the body five days after the killing and registered a case.
“During the process of identifying the accused in Sambasivudu’s murder, police came to know of the kidnap and murder. Based on the information, four of the accused, Mohd Amer, Jithender Reddy, Satish and Sridhar Reddy, were nabbed while the three others are absconding,” Kamalasan Reddy said. They were handed over to the Uppal police for further action.
–Agencies