Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Chandu Rathod was shot dead by unidentified assailants while he was taking his morning walk at Shalivahana Nagar Park in Hyderabad on Tuesday morning. Rathod was the CPI’s Hyderabad city committee member.
According to the Malakpet police, three to four assailants carried out the attack. The motive is not known yet.
The attackers allegedly arrived in a car at around 7.30 am and fired shots at Rathod, who was walking. They then fled in the same vehicle before anyone at the park could apprehend them.
Rathod’s family has claimed that there was an ongoing enmity between Rathod and a member of a rival Communist party. “We are investigating all possible angles in the case,” a police officer from Malakpet police station told The Indian Express.
The park is now closed to visitors, and the police have secured the crime scene.
“From what we know, he was gunned down by his enemies. We are also waiting for details to know if there was any political rivalry,” CPI national leader K Narayana told The Indian Express.
