A member of YSR Congress Party's youth wing was hacked to death in the middle of the road in Andhra Pradesh's Palnadu district on Wednesday night, NDTV reported.
Around 8:30 pm on July 17, in full view of the traffic-goers, the victim Sheikh Rasheed was brutally attacked with a machete. NDTV reports that the attacker Sheikh Jilani severed both of Rasheed's hands before delivering a fatal attack on the neck. The gruesome act was caught on camera.
After the ordeal, he was rushed to the hospital but he succumbed to his injuries.
Sheikh Rasheed was a member of the YSR Congress Party which is led by ex- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The NDTV article further states that District police chief Kanchi Srinivas Rao said that initial investigations suggest the reason behind this gruesome murder is rooted in personal rivalry and strongly dismissed speculations of any political motives.
Stringent prohibitory orders have been enforced throughout Vinukonda town where the incident took place. Further investigations are under way.
This is the latest among a spate of political murders reported in the state.
On July 5, Tamil Nadu Bahujan Samaj Party's chief K Armstrong was hacked to death by six unidentified people near his house in Chennai.Police said that the two-wheeler-borne gang attacked Armstrong with knives near his house in Perambur, inflicting grievous injuries on him and fled. Armstrong, died on the way to the hospital.
Armstrong was a professional advocate and the Tamil Nadu chief of the BSP. He was a former councillor of Chennai Corporation in 2006 and completed his LLB degree in 2009 from the Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati. Born in a Dalit family, he was known for working for the rights of Dalits and the underprivileged.
NDTV reports, two days ago on July 16, a functionary of Naam Thamizhar Katchi party (NTK) was hacked to death in Tamil Nadu's Madurai. Balasubramanian was on a morning walk when he was targeted. In this case too police denied any political motive for the murder.
(With PTI Inputs)