Four Arrested In CPI(M) Leader Rama Rao’s Murder Case

Nearly a year after the incident, Khammam police on Thursday arrested four persons in connection with the brutal murder of veteran CPI(M) leader Samineni Rama Rao at Patharlapadu village in Chinthakani mandal of Khammam district.

Rama Rao (70), a former sarpanch of Patharlapadu, was brutally murdered on the premises of his house in the early hours of October 31, 2025. The incident had caused a sensation across the State.

The arrested persons were identified as Bodapatla Srinivas Rao alias Mental Srinu (34), Nukala Lingaiah (43), Mallarapu Laxmaiah (24) and Karlapudi Uday Kumar alias Rukman Kumar (24). All four are natives of Teldarpally village in Khammam rural mandal.

Addressing a media conference in Khammam, Police Commissioner Sunil Dutt said the investigation revealed that financial and political reasons were behind the murder.

As part of the investigation, polygraph tests were conducted on 24 persons at forensic laboratories in Bengaluru in January 2026, with permission from the Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-III. The information obtained through the tests, when correlated with other evidence, helped investigators identify the alleged perpetrators, he said.

A six-member expert team from the National Forensic Sciences University in Gujarat had also visited Khammam to examine the clues collected in the case.

The Commissioner said the Clues team had collected several items from the crime scene, including slippers, footprint impressions, a piece of red cloth, a piece of white cloth and a knife cover. Police seized two knives allegedly used in the murder, he added.