Sambasivudu: A man with many rivals

You die as you live. It came as no surprise that Sambasivudu, who was involved in at least 35 murder cases, met a bloody end. In fact, the former Maoist leader and TRS politburo member was said to be unrepentant for the killings, which included two sitting MLAs Ragya Naik and Ch Narsi Reddy. He was the mastermind behind the assassination bids on former CMs Chandrababu Naidu and Nedurumalli Janardhan Reddy before he came out overground in February 2009 after being in the movement for over 20 years.

“I have no regrets,” he had remarked on the murders and violence while addressing reporters when he came overground in the presence of then home minister K Jana Reddy.

Sambasivudu entangled himself in land settlements soon after joining the mainstream. Sources said he had several rivals, including the kith and kin of landlords who were killed by him in Valigonda, Rachakonda, Bhongir, Alair, Mothkuru and Tirumalagiri mandals when he was calling the shots in the Maoist party as secretary of Nallamala division. “There was huge money involved in the Bibinagar land settlement case and Sambasivudu had a major stake in it,” sources revealed.

In Bhongir division where he emerged as a strong TRS leader, members of 23 Naxal-affected families were waiting for an opportunity to eliminate him. Rumours were rife that former Maoist Nayeem, who is absconding, has a role in his murder.

As a top Maoist leader, Sambasivudu had a vice-like grip on the Nallamala forest region after having joined the movement in 1990. Maoist Nallamalla forest division secretary and state committee member Panduranga Reddy alias Pratap alleged that Blue Tigers or Cobras (so-called police outfits) might have killed Sambasivudu as he was emerging as a strong leader of T-movement.

Though TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao condemned the killing, it was a muted reaction as allegations about Sambasivudu’s land dealings were flying thick and fast in recent times. When he joined TRS at Telangana Bhavan on January 3, 2011, Sambasivudu asserted that he was not a Naxalite but a `Telanganite.’ And it was at that meeting KCR had promised to endorse and implement the agenda of Naxalites after the formation of Telangana state on the grounds that the Naxalites too were struggling to provide justice to the poor, houses to the homeless and land to the weaker sections.

Analysts said though there were several members in TRS, including party floor leader Etela Rajender and others, who have emerged from organisations like PDSU and Janashakti, Sambasivudu’s entry into TRS was controversial as the surrendered Maoist leader was involved in numerous murders in Mahbubnagar district alone.

Curiously, Sambasivudu admitted that he was only part of the planning of the murder of Maktal MLA Ch Narsi Reddy, father of minister D K Aruna, on August 15 in 2005 but claimed the action was committed by another team.
 
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/There-were-many-waiting-to-seek-revenge/articleshow/7803150.cms  28/03/11, The Times of India)