Anantapur, November 11: Mallela Om Prakash has been sentenced to life term in the murder of jail mate and sharp shooter Julakanti Srinivas Reddy alias Moddu Seenu, an accused in the TDP MLA Paritala Ravi murder case.
The Fourth Fast Track Court judge K V Vijayakumar pronounced the judgment here today two years after the murder. He also imposed a fine of ` 5,000 on Om Prakash.
According to prosecution, around 4.40 a.m. on November 9, 2008, Om Prakash, an undertrial from Madanapalle in Chittoor district lodged in Anantapur district jail, picked up a cement dumbbell and smashed Seenu’s head in the Yamuna barracks.
Seenu, who was asleep, died instantly. Prakash even gnawed at Seenu’s right ear. Prakash was an accused in a dacoity and triple murder case.
Seenu’s murder led to a major controversy with opposition parties alleging YSR government’s role in the killing which was promptly denied by then home minister K Jana Reddy.
Officials said Seenu and Prakash had been quarrelling for several days over keeping the light on till late in the night. While Prakash wanted to read books and write ‘Ramakoti’ in the night, Seenu wanted to sleep. Prakash said that Seenu even slapped him once over the issue.
Later, Om Prakash, confessed to the murder.
Besides, Moddu Srinu and Om Prakash there were four others – Boggu Ramudu, Maratha Maruti, Vaddi Mutyalu and Sh Mahaboob Basha – in the Yamuna barracks.
During the trial, Om Prakash’s wife Lakshmi Rajyam demanded repostmortem on the body of Moddu Srinu. The re-postmortem too revealed that Moddu Srinu was attacked with a cement dumb-bell.
From lorry cleaner to dreaded robber
From an ordinary lorry cleaner, Mallela Om Prakash turned into an inter-state dacoit and became involved in three murder cases. However, his family claims that he is an extremely god-fearing person. His habit of writing Ramakoti (writing the name of Lord Rama) and his eccentric behaviour at times made him a peculiar person.
Om Prakash took the responsibility of his family right from childhood days. He stopped going to school while in seventh standard and became a lorry cleaner. Father of two children, Prakash even tried his hands at politics.
In the 2000 elections to the Madanapalle municipality, Prakash managed to secure a TDP ticket for his wife Shyamala but she lost.
His journey into the world of crime began after he stole loads of ‘Jeera’ which was being transported from Gujarat and sold it away. Later, he started attacking lorry drivers, stealing their vehicles and selling the load in Karnataka. In one such incident, he killed a lorry driver, cleaner and a passenger. His family then disowned him. Sources say that he seeks the ‘blessings of god’ before and after committing an offence.
–Agencies