Former Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao on Monday committed suicide at his residence here, triggering allegations by the TDP that harassment by the YSRCP government drove him to end his life.
Preliminary autopsy report confirmed that the senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and former minister hanged himself.
Rao took his life by hanging with a cloth tied to the ceiling fan at his residence in posh Banjara Hills around 11 a.m.
Rao's daughter with the help of driver and security guard shifted him to Basvatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital, of which he was the founder chairman.
Doctors said Rao was unresponsive when brought to hospital around 11.35 a.m. They failed in their efforts to revive him and declared him dead at 12.39 p.m.
Police registered a case of death under suspicious circumstances and took up the investigations. Deputy Commissioner of Police A.R. Srinivas said the family members told the police that he was under mental stress.
Police shifted Rao's body to government-run Osmania General Hospital, where a team of forensic experts conducted an autopsy.
The body was later shifted to NTR Trust Bhavan, the TDP headquarters here to enable the party leaders to pay their last respects.
Opposition TDP blamed the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government for Rao's death. Its leaders termed this as a murder by the government. They said Rao was under tremendous mental pressure due to false cases booked against him.
TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu alleged that Rao took the extreme step as he was unable to bear the mental harassment. "I had never imagined that Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, who himself was a doctor, will take his own life in this manner," Naidu told reporters in Guntur.
Naidu later rushed to Hyderabad. He along with other leaders will escort the body to Narsaraopet in Guntur district on Tuesday morning.
Rao's son-in-law, Kancheti Sai, alleged that his son, Siva Ramakrishna, was involved in the suicide.
“To get Kodela’s property, his son has murdered him and now he is trying to project his murder as suicide,” he said. Sai has filed a complaint at Sattenapalli police station as well.
Meanwhile, YSRCP leader and Municipal Affairs Minister, Botsa Satyanarayana, also commented on Rao's suicide.
“We have so many doubts over former speaker’s death. Media channels are showing so many different versions. Telangana government should conduct a detailed inquiry on this issue,” he said.
