On the evening of 19 February, just a day before a crucial hearing in the Telangana High Court in a petition against former chief minister and BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao, Rajalingamurthy was brutally murdered in public view.
Published Feb 27, 2025 | 12:23 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 27, 2025 | 12:23 PM
Nityasri is resolved to fight for justice.
Synopsis: Rajalingamurthy Nagavelli, a 49-year-old anti-corruption activist, was murdered in Telangana’s Jayashankar Bhupalpally district on 19 February, just before a key court hearing in a case involving former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao. While the police attribute the murder motive to a land dispute, his family suspects political motives. Allegations of police interference in the investigation have led to demands for a CBI probe. His wife and daughter are determined to bring justice for him.
Beyond the yellow-coated peripheral wall with red and pale green borders, the modest, single-storey house has been enveloped in quietness. The vegetation on either side of the picket gate stood still, an occasional breeze ruffling the leaves, which murmured low like the hushed, measured voices that often punctuated the quietness of the house.
An idol of the Lord Ganapati, the remover of obstacles, occupied a prime slot in the terrace’s parapet and looked over the road in front. Right below the idol, a red-blood-coloured curtain at the doorway hid the residents from prying eyes.
The quietness was strange to the house, which frequently heard debates on politics and social issues. Such debates have become a thing of the past ever since the head of the family, Rajalingamurthy Nagavelli, was left lying on a road in Bhupalpally town — two kilometres from the safety of his residence at Fakkirgadda — still, silent, and slain.
Inside the compound wall, a small pandal has come up. Blue plastic chairs remained scattered and unoccupied as a few sat on the concrete floor outside the house.
Rajalingamurthy Nagavelli was two months shy of his 50th birthday when he was murdered. (Saicharan/ South First)
A large towel, which had seen better days, was spread on a cot in the pandal, with flowers, vessels, and burnt stubs of incense sticks that spoke of a puja that had been held.
At the head of the cot was a specially prepared picture of Rajalingamurthy.
His name was printed below the picture. Below the picture came a line that read “04-04-1975 to 19-02-2025” — the last date denoting a grim reminder of a life that ended abruptly and unexpectedly.
The end date was a Wednesday, the day on which five bike-borne men cut short the life of a man who would have celebrated his 50th birthday — a landmark in any person’s life — in two months.
On Wednesday, as Rajalingamurthy rode his two-wheeler home through the familiar Bhupalpally town, he was expecting a high court hearing* the next day regarding a complaint he had filed against former chief minister and BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao in October 2023.
Rajalingamurthy Nagavelli was brutally murdered on a public road on 19 February 2025. (Supplied)
Little did he then know that he would not know of the proceedings in the court.
The attack was sudden. Rajalingamurthy could do nothing to avoid the iron rod that hit him hard. As he fell, the attackers stabbed him repeatedly in public view around 7 pm. He was helpless against multiple men.
Sarala Nagavelli, his wife, was soon informed of the attack. Though she rushed to the scene, the woman could do little. Rajalingamurthy died before receiving medical attention.
The cold-blooded murder soon took a political colour with his family and Congress alleging a conspiracy to eliminate him. The complaint he had lodged against BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao, his nephew, former minister T Harish Rao, and a few government officials, strengthened the allegation.
Meanwhile, Sarala mentioned a land dispute — now before a civil court — between Rajalingamurthy and Sanjeev Renukuntla, and Komuraiah Renikuntla.
In her complaint on 19 February, she said the Renukuntlas were in the gang that killed her husband. She named three others also: Kumar More, Kumar Kotthuri, and Pingali Shemanth.
On Sunday, 23 February, police arrested seven people: Renikuntla Sanjeev, Renikuntla Sambaiah, Renikuntla Komuraiah, Pingli Semanth, More Kumar, Kothuri Kiran, and Dasarapu Krishna. Three others, Pulla Suresh, Pulla Naresh, and Kotha Hari Babu, are still at large.
Nityasri’s resolve is steely. Even while grieving her father Rajalingamurthy Nagavelli’s premature death, she and her mother Sarala have resolved to bring the perpetrators of the crime to book. (Saicharan/South First)
At Rajalingamurthy’s house, where he lived for 45 years, Sarala and her 23-year-old daughter Nityasri are determined to fight for justice. They see a sinister design, orchestrated to silence a relentless voice against corruption.
“We won’t rest until the real culprits are exposed,” the mother and daughter declared, even as the clamour for a CBI probe into the murder grew louder. The demand was made following allegations of political interference in the case. The police are also accused of shielding influential names.
Rajalingamurthy was waylaid and murdered in front of the Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) office, a workers’ association affiliated with the BRS. The crime location has added another layer of intrigue. However, the police attributed the motive to the land dispute.
Sarala spoke about the case against KCR. “The police refused to file the case. Hence, my husband went to the court directly and fought alone for justice,” she told South First.
Rajalingamurthy had accused the BRS leaders and officials of misappropriating funds from the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. He complained after the piers at the local Medigadda Barrage collapsed.
The slain activist had not completed his intermediate. Still, he taught himself the Indian law. “He’d spend all his time on documents whenever he suspected any wrongdoing,” Sarala recalled.
Near his residence, an autorickshaw driver termed politics a filthy business. “Still, he stepped into that filth to clear it, however impossible it may seem,” he added.
Sarala knew politics better than the driver. She had been a councillor in the Bhupalpally Municipality.
“I contested the 2020 Bhupalpally Municipality elections on a BRS ticket. However, my husband and I could not agree with its administrative practices — inflating operational costs, etc. We opposed it, and in 2022, we were ousted from the party,” she said.
The difference in opinion was not the only reason for the couple’s ouster. “Despite being in the BRS, he went after the then-local MLA Ramana Reddy over land encroachment issues. This put him in Rama Reddy’s bad book,” Sarala added.
Rajalingamurthy joined the Congress ahead of the 2023 assembly polls. However, owing to his nature, Rajalingamurthy did not find much support in Congress either — reminding one of the autorickshaw driver’s comment.
“Even after my husband’s murder, the local Congress leader, Satyanarayana Reddy, who had a good relationship with him, did not visit us. It made us realise why my husband never cared about party, position, or power when he saw something wrong,” the bereaved wife said.
Although the local Congress leader reportedly did not come out in solidarity with the family, the state leadership did.
On 20 February, Roads and Buildings Minster Komatireddy Venkata Reddy demanded a CBI probe into the murder. He accused the BRS of orchestrating the crime to silence a critic.
“There is no place for murder politics in Telangana. We will protect those who fight against corruption,” he said at a news conference. The statement will not make up for Sarala and Nityasri’s loss.
However, the BRS attributed the murder motive to “a personal land dispute”.
A First Information Report (FIR) filed on 20 February cited the property dispute as the murder motive and named five suspects. The case, however, courted controversy with allegations of political interference in the investigation.
Disputed land: Rajalingamurthy was locked in a land dispute with Sanjeev Renukuntla, and Komuraiah Renikuntla.
Sarala claimed the police deliberately omitted key names from her complaint. “When I went to the police station, I demanded them include the names of former MLA Venkataramana Reddy and his henchman, Haribabu, as well,” she claimed.
However, according to her, the police refused to record those names. “They told me they couldn’t do me justice if we included those names. They asked why I wanted ‘big names’ in the FIR,” Sarala alleged.
Sarala made a more serious charge. She stated that the police discarded her initial complaint, which also named Reddy and Hari Babu.
The former councillor said she was forced to rewrite the complaint in a way that suited the police.
“It’s like the police have some sort of deal,” she alleged.
The allegations have raised concerns over possible political influence in the case. While the authorities have yet to respond to these claims, Sarala insisted that justice would remain elusive if the investigation continued under such constraints.
“It’s not that the Renukuntla family — named in the FIR — is innocent. However, they aren’t the kind of people who’d murder unless their safety is ensured,” Sarala said.
Despite the police naming Hari Babu as a suspect, investigators ruled out a political angle to the crime. They stood by their view that its was a murder over the property dispute.
Earlier, Jayashankar Bhupalpally SP Kiran Khare told South First that all possible angles are being probed.
“We are relying on the available CCTV footage and questioning suspects,” he said.
However, he then noted that the motive for the murder was clear. “Preliminary investigation points at the land dispute as the cause of the murder,” he said, adding, “We are also exploring other possible motives.”
DSP Sampath Rao is leading the investigation.
Even while grieving her father’s untimely passing, Nityashri’s resolve remains steely.
“We are grieving right now, but we won’t give up,” she declared. Like her mother, she does not believe the police can do justice.
“We won’t rest until we have an assurance from the current government that the investigating authority will change,” she said.
“We want a CBI investigation,” she demanded. “I’ll do whatever it takes, go wherever I have to for justice. I’m my father’s daughter,” she asserted with a firm resolve.
*After Rajalingamurthy’s death, questions were raised over whether the case should be continued. The public prosecutor sought time to convince the court of the need to continue the case and further investigation.
