Anantapur: The mystery over the death of Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry Dr Achanna of Kadapa, appears to have been solved. Police sources said on Sunday that they have come to the conclusion that it was a murder by some of the hospital staff.
Dr Achanna had been suspended after a complaint by the staff that he was harassing them over office-related matters. The senior official was missing since March 12 and his body was found near Rayachoti in Annamayya district on March 24.
In the veterinary hospital, offices of the joint director office and the deputy director (DD) were located in the same compound. There was internal bickering among the staff who were split into rival groups for the past six months. In this context, a group of doctors had approached the higher authorities with a complaint against the deputy director, saying in specific that he was harassing them.
Meanwhile, three assistant directors were proceeded against by the deputy director. However, a departmental inquiry concluded that the DD’s action against them was not justified. Hence the three were allowed to continue in the same slots.
Achanna was found missing on March 12. He had gone for prayers at a local church in Kadapa but did not return home. Two days later, his son Clinton Chakravarthi lodged a complaint with one-town police over the disappearance of his father.
Curiously, the higher authorities issued a suspension order on Achanna on March 14, based on a report by a three member –committee that probed the allegations against him.
On March 24, Achanna's body was found near the Guvvalacheruvu Ghat section in Ramapuram mandal in Annamayya district. The Ramapuram police registered a case of suspicious death and handed over the body to the family. The final rites were performed in Kurnool on Saturday.
On Sunday, after a detailed inquiry, the police came to a conclusion that the deputy director was abducted and murdered. “One of the staff members along with his aides was involved in the murder. Police questioned four veterinary hospital staff and cracked the murder case,” the sources said.
The SC employees associations and some public-spirited organisations held agitations demanding justice for the family of Achanna.
