Hyderabad, Feb 20 (IANS) Telangana Congress leader Kota Neelima has demanded a judicial probe into the murder of Rajalinga Murthy, who had filed a complaint about alleged corruption in Kaleshwaram project when Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) was in power.
The general secretary of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) said this was not just another murder.
“Brutal and mysterious murder of a whistleblower who brought to light irregularities in the Rs 1.2 lakh crore Kaleshwaram project. Rajalinga Murthy complained against the then CM KCR and then Irrigation Minister Harish Rao. He was killed a day before hearing in High Court,” she posted on ‘X’.
“I demand a Judicial Probe to reveal the circumstances of this murder and to expose the real culprits,” added Neelima, who is also a member of AICC.
Murthy was hacked to death by unidentified persons on Wednesday night in Bhupalapally town of Jayashankar Bhupalapally district.
His wife Sarla, a former councillor of Bhupalapally Municipality, has blamed leaders of BRS for the murder.
Murthy had filed a case at the Bhupalpally police station in October 2023, seeking registration of an FIR against then chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), then irrigation minister T. Harish Rao and others after a couple of piers of Medigadda barrage, a part of Kaleshwaram project, had sunk.
As the police had refused to register an FIR, Murthy had approached the local magistrate court, which rejected his plea. He subsequently approached the Principal Sessions Court, Bhupalpally, which issued notices to KCR, Harish Rao and others. However, the Telangana High Court granted a stay.
The sinking of the piers of Medigadda had triggered a political uproar with the opposition parties blaming the then BRS government for the incident due to alleged corruption, flawed design and poor quality of works on the project, billed as the world’s largest lift irrigation project.
Both Congress and BJP had made it a key issue during the November 2023 Assembly elections. Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with present Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had also visited the barrage during the poll campaign.
Meanwhile, BRS leader and former MLA Gandra Venkat Ramana Reddy on Thursday denied his involvement in the murder of Murthy.
The BRS leader said the allegations made against him were baseless and accused the Congress party of attempts to falsely implicate BRS in the case.
Venkat Ramana Reddy was reacting to allegations by the family of the victim and leaders of the ruling party.
“Some Congress leaders are demanding CB CID inquiry. We have no objection if the government orders CBI inquiry,” he said.
The former MLA alleged that Rajalingamurthy was involved in many land disputes and a rowdysheet was also opened against him.
–IANS
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