ANANTAPUR: B. Badanna, the Director of the Valmiki Welfare Federation and the former chairman of Kalyanadurgam market, was hacked down by his rivals at Golla in Kalyandurgam mandal on Thursday morning. Badanna was an active leader of the Telugu Desam Party from the Kalyanadurgam constituency and a close aide of I&PR minister Kalava Srinivasulu.
According to his family members, Badanna left his house in Golla village to take a morning walk on Thursday, when a group of unidentified men waylaid him at a deserted spot and began attacking him with stones. They then used hunting sickles to hack him down and fled from the spot. Villagers who happened to witness the encounter alerted members of Badanna’s family. The leader was found lying in a pool of blood, battling for his life. He was immediately shifted to a Saveera, a private hospital in Anantapur, where he was declared dead on arrival.
The murder has ignited an atmosphere of tension at Golla and Kalyanadurgam. The act of violence is suspected to be related to a dispute regarding the allocation of land for a new road in the village. A relative of Badanna’s had developed a rivalry with him, and he is thought to have played a role in the elimination of the leader. Members of the TD cadre are blaming the YSRC for supporting Badanna’s rivals.
Special police teams have been formed to nab the culprits. A police picket is posted at Golla, and additional forces have been sent to sensitive parts of Kalyanadurgam. SP G.V.G. Ashokkumar said that the case was under investigation, and information was being collected from family members of the deceased and the villagers of Golla.
