Nalgonda: The decomposed body of a man was found in a Mission Bhagiratha water tank in the old town’s Hindupur colony here on Monday. The man, later identified as Avula Vamshi Krishna, 28, a mentally ill resident of Krishna colony, had gone missing on May 24.
The residents complained to municipal officials about the foul smell emanating from the water that was being supplied to them for the past three days. Housing Board Colony resident Palakuri Radhamma said that she had noticed a foul smell and oily residue in the drinking water on Saturday.
The assistant engineer and a water line man of the municipality checked the water tank on Monday and found the body in it.
According to an official release, the assistant engineer and lineman did not find the body when they last checked the tank on May 30 and June 1.
The tank provides drinking water to seven localities, including the Housing Board, Indiramma and SLBC colonies, Kathalguda, Mamillaguda, Hanumannagar, and Krishnanagar.
Preliminary investigation suggested that Krishna could have died two to three days back. Police are looking at multiple angles of suicide and murder in the case. Nalgonda town-I police had filed a case based on a complaint by his family members after Krishna had gone missing on May 24.
Responding to the incident, minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy telephoned the district officials to check whether any person had fallen ill after consuming the water and directed them to take measures to clean and disinfect the tank.
Lending a political twist to the incident, BRS former legislator Kancherla Bhupal Reddy alleged that Krishna had died by suicide in the tank on May 24. He said that drinking water from the tank was supplied to thousands of families for the last 11 days. The municipal staff was playing with the lives of people by neither cleaning nor checking the water tank, he alleged.
Venkat Reddy, the local MLA, has not conducted any review meeting on the supply of drinking water to the people in summer, he said.
Bhupal Reddy criticised the municipal officials for trying to play down the incident. He staetd that BRS leaders and workers would stage a protest demonstration at the Nalgonda municipal office on the issue.
