Hyderabad: Kura Suresh, the man who allegedly set Abdullapurmet tahsildar Ch. Vijaya Reddy afire and murdered her, has died. The only accused in the case, Suresh, who suffered over 60 per cent burns during his act of trying to kill Ms Reddy, succumbed to his injuries at the Osmania General Hospital (OGH) on Thursday.
The 38-year-old, a resident of Gowrelli village in the Ranga Reddy district, was initially shifted to a private hospital, but later admitted to the OGH for better treatment.
Though reports emerged Thursday morning that Suresh had succumbed, doctors said that he had been given ventilator support and remained critical. Later, at around 3.25 pm, the OGH doctors declared him dead.
Afterwards, when doctors informed Latha, Suresh’s wife, the news of his death, she collapsed in the hospital corridor. She was immediately taken to outpatient ward and provided first-aid, before being allowed to leave the hospital.
“Latha collapsed on the floor after learning of her husband’s death. Her blood pressure suddenly came down. She was given treatment and sent off to her native village,” said M Venkatesh, cousin of the deceased Suresh.
On November 4, Suresh had gone into the chambers of Abdullapurmet tahsildar Ch Vijaya Reddy and set her ablaze. Three others — B. Narayana (visitor), Chandraiah (attender) and K. Gurunatham (her private driver) — also suffered burns.
Vijaya Reddy died on the spot. Gurunatham succumbed the next day. Chandraiah and Narayana are still undergoing treatment but stated to be out of danger.
Suresh, elder of three children of K Krishna and K Padma, is survived by wife Latha and two children, aged eight and two. Suresh was in real estate business, while his wife is a homemaker.
Hoping for his recovery, Suresh’s family members were waiting at the OGH for last three days. His death not only came as a devastating blow, but has also left them perplexed as to the motive of his action.
Mr Krishna, his father, said, “I saw my son alive last on November 4. At around 9 am, he left the house on a bike. Now, I saw his body. My son had no idea about our land issue. My elder brother and I take care of land disputes. He was friendly with everyone.”
When asked why Suresh might have taken such an extreme step, a sobbing Krishna said, “We do not know. We do not have a clue. We also want answers for it. He never visited the tahsildar’s office prior to this incident.”
After a post-mortem examination at the OGH mortuary, the body was handed over to family members.
Krishna informed that the final rites of his son would be performed at Gowrelli village on Thursday night. Meanwhile, police have deployed forces in Gowrelli to ensure that no untoward incident occurs during and after the final rituals.
S. Jayaram, ACP, Vanasthalipuram, said that after discussing with senior officials about the developments, they would take a decision on the case as the only accused has succumbed.
“We have to find if the accused was instigated by anyone or it was just his sole plan to kill the tahsildar. So far, we have not found any clues suggesting any involvement of others,” the ACP said.
RDO gets threat call over passbook
Kamareddy revenue divisional officer Rajendra Kumar has received a threatening call over a land issue, and the caller turned out to be a policeman.
Armed Reserve police constable Srinivas Reddy allegedly threatened the RDO over phone on late Wednesday night that if he did not issue the pattadar passbook immediately, he would face the fate of Abdullapurmet tahsildar.
Abdullapurmet tahsildar T. Vijaya Reddy was allegedly burnt to death by one Kura Suresh two days ago. This has led to unrest among revenue officials who have demanded increased security and have begun taking safety measures themselves.
RDO Rajendra Kumar immediately alerted the police and lodged a complaint. Constable Srinivas Reddy, who is with the intelligence wing, is reportedly facing problems with his land in Tadwai mandal. He threatened the revenue divisional officer and tahsildar of Tadwai over the land dispute. Kamareddy deputy superintendent of police T. Laxminarayana said that the local police had begun investigating the complaint filed by Mr Rajendra Kumar.
