Paritalas Killers Jailed for Life

ANANTAPUR: More than six years after the assassination of TDP legislator Paritala Ravindra, a sessions court on Thursday sentenced eight accused in the case to life imprisonment and acquitted four others for want of evidence.District Sessions Court judge K Sivaprasad delivered the long-awaited verdict in the packed court room here this afternoon.Among those who were sentenced to life imprisonment were P Narayana Reddy, V Rekhamaiah, Ranganayakulu, Vadde Konda, Vadde Seena, Medimi Peddireddy, Peddireddy and Vanna Hanumantha Reddy. GV Reddy, Anand Kumar Reddy, Patolla Goverdhan Reddy and Ramaswamy were acquitted along with Rammohan Reddy, an accused who had turned approver during the course of the trial.Main accused, Maddilacheruvu Suryanarayana Reddy alias Suri, Julakanti Srinivas Reddy alias Moddu Seenu and P Narayana Reddy, were murdered after the trial began.Ravindra was shot dead in front of the TDP office here on Jan 24, 2005.Based on a complaint lodged by Paritala Ravi’s father-inlaw Kondanna, Anantapur Two Town Police registered a case and took up investigation.However, with the TDP and Paritala’s family members doubting the district police and alleging the hand of the then Rayalaseema region IGP RP Meena, the then district minister JC Diwakar Reddy and YSR’s son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the case, the state government referred the case to the CBI.After initial investigation, the CBI gave a clean chit to Jagan, Diwakar Reddy and RP Meena.In the course of the investigation, 268 people were questioned and of them, 133 were identified as witnesses.Based on information provided by them, cases were booked against 16 people including Suri and Moddu Seenu and a chargesheet filed.The trial began in 2006.The accused were initially lodged in the Charlapalle Central Jail in Hyderabad.The accused were, however, shifted back and forth from Hyderabad to Anantapur jails.Citing security problems, the police urged the court to lodge them in Anantapur jail but the accused pleaded with the court to let them be in Hyderabad.The court, though, accepted the police request.Subsequently on Nov 9, 2008, accused No 2 and ace shooter Moddu Seenu was done to death in the jail itself by an undertrial Om Prakash.Perhaps fearing for his life, one of the accused K Ramamohan Reddy turned approver.Meanwhile, on January 1 this year, main accused Suri was shot dead allegedly by his close aide Bhanu in Hyderabad.The very next month, another accused Thopundurthi Konda Reddy was killed at his residence in Anantapur.