Hyderabad, July 17: A senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader was shot dead by unidentified assailants in broad daylight while on a morning walk in Hyderabad on Tuesday, police said. Four suspects later surrendered to authorities.
The victim, Chandu Naik, 43, a state committee member of the CPI, was killed around 7:30 a.m. at Shalivahana Nagar Park in the Malakpet area of Hyderabad, according to S Chaitanya Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East Zone).
“Four assailants arrived in a Swift car and opened fire on Naik, who was walking with his wife and others. Five bullets were recovered from the scene,” Kumar told reporters. He added that a case of murder has been registered and 10 special police teams have been formed to investigate.
Police said they are reviewing CCTV footage from the area and have identified the car used in the crime. All necessary forensic evidence has been collected from the scene.
Naik, a resident of Chaitanyapuri in Hyderabad, hailed from Narsayipalli village in Nagarkurnool district. He had earlier been associated with the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) before joining the CPI. He was also an accused in a 2022 murder case in LB Nagar.
“We are investigating whether the killing was a result of old rivalries or land disputes,” Kumar said.
A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that all four accused in the shooting surrendered to the Special Operations Team (SOT) later in the day. “They will be formally arrested and presented before a magistrate following interrogation,” the officer said.
Naik’s wife, Nari Bai, told reporters that one of the attackers was a former Maoist who had been involved in land settlement deals. “My husband had warned him multiple times. That may have led to his murder,” she alleged. The daylight killing of a prominent political leader has shocked the local community and raised concerns about public safety in the city.
