Andhra constable sent to judicial custody for alleged involvement in murder

KURNOOL: Following the murder of a journalist, the police department on Tuesday dismissed constable Venkata Subbaiah, the key accused in the case, from service. The Nandyal police produced Venkata Subbaiah and his brother Nani before Allagadda Court, which remanded them to 14 days’ judicial custody over their alleged involvement in the murder of a local reporter in Nandyal town. 

The suspended constable Venkata Subbaiah and his brother Nageswara Rao alias Nani were arrested late on Monday in the murder of local scribe Chenna Kesav (33) two days ago. Kesav had posted some videos on his YouTube channel related to the alleged nefarious affairs of the constable, police said. Subbaiah, a constable posted in the Nandyal Two-town police station, was recently suspended from service over his involvement in matka gambling.

On Sunday night, Subbaiah called Kesav to his hostel and, along with his brother Nani, allegedly stabbed him with a screwdriver.“Though Kesav tried to escape, the duo pushed him down and stabbed him, resulting in bleeding injuries. Local people tried to rescue the reporter, but the assailants fled the scene after committing the crime,” Kurnool district Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Reddy said.

A profusely bleeding Kesav was rushed to hospital by a fellow scribe and the locals, but he immediately succumbed, the SP added. Two special teams launched a manhunt and nabbed Subbaiah and his brother and arrested them.They were produced in the local court on Tuesday, Nandyal DSP Chidananda Reddy said.