Cops hunt for killers of Andhra politician Suri

Hyderabad: Police are hunting for the killer of gangster-politician Gangula Suryanarayana Reddy alias Maddelachervu Suri, who was shot dead allegedly by an aide travelling with him in the same car.

Police on Tuesday denied reports that Bhanu Kiran, the suspected killer who was also Suri's close associate, had been arrested or that he gave himself up.

A police officer said they were still looking for him.

Suri, 39, was shot dead in his car at Navodaya Colony in Yousufguda near Jubliee Hills on Monday evening when he was returning home after meeting his lawyer.

Driver Madhumohan Reddy alias Madhu told police that Kiran, who was seated in the back seat, used a gun with a silencer to fire two bullets into Suri's head.

Kiran reportedly escaped after the shooting while the driver rushed a bleeding Suri to a hospital in the same car.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner AK Khan said they were verifying the driver's version as he was the only witness in the case.

Kiran is suspected to have killed Suri following differences over sharing of money in a property dispute.

Some of Suri's relatives, however, alleged that his rivals bought over Kiran to kill him. They suspect the involvement of the followers of slain politician Paritala Ravi.

The factional feud between Suri and Ravi led to a Ram Gopal Varma movie 'Rakta Charitra' on the four-decade long rivalry between the two families.

The body was brought to Osmania on Monday night from Apollo Hospital, where he was pronounced dead by doctors after their two-hour efforts to revive him failed.

Suri was the key accused in the 2005 murder of former Andhra Pradesh minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Ravi and in the 1997 Jubliee Hills car bomb blast that killed 26 people.

Suri, a Congress supporter, was sentenced to life in the car blast case but was released in December 2009 after spending 13 years in prison after the government granted him remission.

Dozens of Suri's relatives and followers gathered at the hospital. The body would be taken to Suri's native place Maddelachervu in Anantapur district.