A couple practicing law in the Telangana High Court was brutally murdered in broad daylight by unidentified persons in Peddapalli district on Wednesday.
Gattu Vamana Rao and his wife Gattu Nagamani, who were returning in a car to Hyderabad after appearing for a case in a local court at Manthani, were waylaid and stabbed indiscriminately by unidentified persons near Kalwacheral in Ramagiri mandal.
Police shifted the couple to a hospital at Peddapalli where they died while undergoing treatment.
Visuals which went viral on social media show Vamana Rao (53) lying in a pool of blood on the road while vehicles were seen passing by. His wife Nagamani (50) was lying badly injured in the car.
Some passersby reached closed to Rao, who reportedly took the name of 'Kunta Srinivas', said to be a local leader of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
Police took the driver of the advocate couple into custody and began questioning him. Police also sealed several routes to stop assailants from escaping.
Ramagunda Police Commissioner V. Satyanarayana said six teams were formed to catch the culprits. "We will catch the culprits, no matter how powerful they are," he said.
The couple was arguing some controversial cases including a disproportionate assets case they had filed against Zilla Parishad Chairman Putta Madhukar.
They also filed Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the alleged lockup death of a Dalit in Manthani police station. They had also sought protection alleging threatening calls from police.
The High Court in February this year had directed the police to ensure that the advocate couple was not harassed.
Vaman Rao's brother Indrasekhar said he was suspecting the hand of Kunta Srinivas, who was allegedly involved in land encroachments. The advocate was fighting the cases against him.
Congress leader and Manthani MLA. D. Sridhar Babu demanded judicial probe and also an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the incident.
BJP's state unit chief Bandi Sanjay also demanded a high level probe into the killing of the couple.
