Kurnool: With six lives lost in the past two months, the Kurnool and Nandyal districts are in the grip of violence and the atmosphere remains surcharged.
After the Telugu Desam-led government came to power in June, four TD activists and one each YSRC and BJP men have been slain.
The rise in political violence is causing alarm in the combined Kurnool district. Two TD activists were killed in Pathikonda constituency alone. TD leader Vakiti Srinivasulu was done to death in Hosur and BJP leader Shekhanna in Adoni.
The district has 73 factional villages and over 200 problematic villages but faced inadequate police resources.
Though there are 86 police stations and 8 DSP offices in the two districts, the police force is having a tough time tackling intense factional rivalries, a retired police official said, and noted that several high-profile murders escalated tensions in recent times.
In June 2021, TD leaders V Nageswara Reddy and V Pratapa Reddy were killed by YSR Congress gangs. In October 2022, Kuruva Siddappa, a follower of Dhone MLA Kotla Jayasurya Prakash Reddy, was slain in Kodumuru. On June 9, TD leader M Girinath Chowdary was murdered in Bommireddypalle; and on July 7, a YSR Congress gang fatally attacked M Madhavaiah in Venkatanayuni Palle.
TD leader Atla Sridevi was killed in Allagadda town on June 25. The police attributed the murder to a property dispute. A TD activist, Budda Srinivasa Reddy, was recently booked in the killing of Pasupuleti Pedda Subbarayudu in Sitaramapuram, Mahanandi mandal.
In a recent statement, YSR Congress leader and former Panyam legislator Katasani Rambhupal Reddy highlighted the escalation in violence. He noted that faction politics had largely been subdued since 2004 following advice from then CM, YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
