Police Arrest Four Men For Murder Of CPI(M) Leader In Khammam

Police have arrested four men in Khammam district for the murder of veteran CPI(M) leader Samineni Rama Rao, nearly a year after the crime took place. The 72-year-old leader, who was also a former sarpanch of Patharlapadu village, was killed last year. The four arrested suspects are residents of Teldarupalli village. They include 34-year-old mason Bodapatla Srinivasa Rao, 43-year-old farm worker Nukala Lingaiah, and painters Mallarapu Lakshmaiah, 24, and Karlapudi Uday Kumar, 39.

Investigation Details

Addressing a press conference on Thursday evening, Khammam Police Commissioner Sunil Dutt said the arrests followed a detailed investigation using physical and technical evidence. Police sought court permission to conduct polygraph tests on 24 persons whose names came up during the probe. Six suspects voluntarily agreed to undergo these tests in January 2026 at the Forensic Laboratory in Bengaluru. Authorities also brought in a six-member expert team from the National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, to conduct a forensic analysis. Police Commissioner Sunil Dutt inspected the weapons seized from the accused.

Reactions And Motive

The murder had sparked widespread outrage and protests by the CPI(M) over a perceived delay by police in catching the culprits. According to the police, the exact motive behind the killing is still unclear, and further investigation is ongoing.

Context

High-profile political murders often trigger intense public pressure on law enforcement agencies, leading to prolonged forensic investigations that rely on scientific tools like lie detector tests and expert analysis from national institutions. Forensic science plays a vital role in helping police crack complicated criminal cases where direct evidence may be hard to find initially.