Seven arrested, three absconding in Rajalingamurthy murder case

Seven people have been arrested and three are absconding in the murder of Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy, a complainant in the Medigadda barrage case, Jayashankar Bhupalapally SP Kiran Khare told the media on Friday. He said the killing followed a dispute over one acre of land in front of Bhupalpally police station, with both parties in court. On February 19, chilli powder was thrown in the victim's eyes before he was attacked with an iron rod and knives. Police seized five two-wheelers, seven mobile phones and two knives.

Written by AI from Jayashankar Bhupalpally — crime · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 26 Sept 2026, 10:39 am IST

Source

Jayashankar Bhupalpally — crime · read the original report ↗

#murder#land dispute#police#arrests#medigadda

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

Seven people arrested and three absconding in the murder of Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy. — Attributed to Jayashankar Bhupalapally SP Kiran Khare in a Friday media briefing.
The murder stemmed from a dispute over one acre of land in front of Bhupalpally police station, with both sides in court. — Attributed to the SP; figure of one acre appears in source.
Former municipal vice-chairman Kotha Hari Babu allegedly said, 'Go ahead and kill him. I will take care of the bail and any other expenses.' — Quote reported second-hand via police account; unverified and legally untested.
Rajalingamurthy was attacked on February 19, 2025 with chilli powder, an iron rod and knives and died on the spot. — Attributed to police narrative based on stated confessions during interrogation.
Police seized five two-wheelers, seven mobile phones, two knives, an iron rod and blood-stained clothes. — Figures appear in source, attributed to police.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Legal Analyst

On the police account, this is being framed as a pre-planned killing — weapons allegedly bought two months in advance, movements tracked, roles coordinated — which typically brings criminal conspiracy and common-intention/common-object provisions into play alongside the murder charge. Those who never struck a blow may still be sought to be held liable on an abetment theory. But everything stated so far is investigative allegation, and a confession made to police is not, as a settled principle of Indian evidence law, proof of guilt in court.

If the claims of buying and hiding weapons beforehand and shadowing the victim's movements hold up, they go directly to establishing premeditation.
Those not physically present at the assault can still face equal liability under common-intention or common-object provisions, but shared intent must be proved in court, not merely asserted.
Custodial confessions carry little evidentiary weight; the case will turn on independent material — the seized knives, iron rod, phones, blood-stained clothes, vehicles and any call-data trail.
The statement that the arrested were produced before the Bhupalapally court signals the remand stage has begun, after which bail pleas, the charge sheet and statutory timelines become the key procedural milestones.
For the three absconding suspects, the court route would ordinarily involve warrants and, if they remain untraced, proclamation processes; the victim's status as a complainant also raises a witness-protection question for others in that matter.

What to watch — Watch which sections are finally invoked in the charge sheet, how the alleged instigator's role is pleaded, whether the three absconders are traced, and how the court treats the early bail applications.

This rests entirely on the police version; motive, conspiracy and the precise role of each accused remain unproven in court, and the story does not establish any link between the murder and the Medigadda barrage case itself.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 6 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy, a complainant in the Medigadda barrage case, was hacked to death in Bhupalpally town, Jayashankar Bhupalapally district, Telangana. Police say the killing was not linked to his activism but to a long-running dispute over one acre of land in front of the Bhupalpally police station, which both parties had taken to court. Jayashankar Bhupalapally SP Kiran Khare told the media on Friday that seven accused had been arrested and three were absconding, and that the murder was pre-planned with weapons bought two months in advance.

Key facts

Seven persons arrested and three absconding in the murder of Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy, a complainant in the Medigadda barrage case, per SP Kiran Khare.
Those arrested: Renikuntla Sanjeev, Pingili Semanth, More Kumar, Kothuri Kiran, Renikuntla Komuraiah, Dasaratu Krishna and Renikuntla Sambaiah.
Absconding suspects named as Kotha Hari Babu (a former municipal vice-chairman), Pula Naresh and Pula Suresh.
The dispute was over one acre of land located in front of the Bhupalpally police station; both parties had gone to court.
Two months before the killing, Sanjeev and More Kumar bought two knives and an iron rod in the Kashibugga area of Warangal and hid them at Sanjeev's house.
On February 19, 2025, the accused blocked Rajalingamurthy near his residence, threw chilli powder in his eyes and attacked him with an iron rod and knives; he died on the spot.
Police seized five two-wheelers, seven mobile phones, two knives, an iron rod and blood-stained clothes.
The accused were arrested at the 5 Incline check post, confessed during interrogation and were produced before the Bhupalapally court.

Timeline

About two months before the murderSanjeev and More Kumar buy two knives and an iron rod at Kashibugga in Warangal and hide them at Sanjeev's house.
February 19, 2025 (day)Sanjeev spots Rajalingamurthy at a court hearing, alerts associates and deploys Dasari Krishna and Naresh to track his movements.
February 19, 2025 (evening)Rajalingamurthy leaves Care Medical Shop near Ambedkar Center on his motorcycle; the accused attack him near his residence and he dies on the spot.
After the attackSanjeev and Bablu flee towards Parkal, meet relative Kalavala Srinivas at Shyam Nagar Bus Stage; Sanjeev switches off his phone and calls Kotha Hari Babu from Srinivas's phone.
SubsequentlyBhupalapally police arrest the accused at the 5 Incline check post; they confess and are produced before the Bhupalapally court.
Friday (date not stated in the source)SP Kiran Khare briefs the media on the arrests, the land dispute motive and the seizures.

Who has a stake

Family of Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy — Loss of a family member killed while a land case and the Medigadda barrage complaint were pending; seeks justice and conviction.
Jayashankar Bhupalapally district police / SP Kiran Khare — Must complete the investigation, trace three absconders and prove pre-meditation in court; a special team has been deployed.
Arrested accused (Renikuntla Sanjeev and six others) — Face trial for murder; produced before the Bhupalapally court after confessing during interrogation.
Kotha Hari Babu, former municipal vice-chairman — Named as absconding and alleged to have promised to cover bail and expenses; his role raises questions of political and local influence.
Courts (Bhupalapally court and the court hearing the land case) — Were already seized of the civil land dispute; now handle the murder prosecution and remand.

Why it matters

The killing of a person who had complained in the Medigadda barrage case shows how unresolved land disputes and local influence can escalate into targeted violence, even when the matter is already before a court. Police attribute the motive to one acre of contested land, but the involvement of a former municipal vice-chairman who allegedly offered to fund bail points to the protection networks that embolden such crimes. It also highlights how slow civil litigation over land titles can push parties toward extra-legal remedies.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Medigadda barrage is at the centre of a case in which the deceased, Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy, was a complainant.
Jayashankar Bhupalapally is a district of Telangana; its Superintendent of Police is Kiran Khare.
Murder date: February 19, 2025; accused arrested at the 5 Incline check post, produced before the Bhupalapally court.
Seizures in the case: five two-wheelers, seven mobile phones, two knives, an iron rod and blood-stained clothes.
Motive stated by police: dispute over one acre of land in front of Bhupalpally police station, pending in court.
One absconding accused, Kotha Hari Babu, is a former municipal vice-chairman.

Mains framing

The Rajalingamurthy murder illustrates three intersecting problems in Indian local governance and criminal justice: contested land titles, the vulnerability of complainants and activists, and the role of locally powerful figures in enabling violence. Police say the immediate cause was a one-acre plot in front of the Bhupalpally police station, with the accused believing the land had been unfairly transferred to the victim; despite the matter being before a court, the accused allegedly concluded that killing him was the only way to reclaim it, buying weapons two months in advance and tracking his movements on the day of a court hearing. The alleged assurance by a former municipal vice-chairman to arrange bail and expenses, and the reported friction over a land transfer near the MRO office, point to how administrative and political access can shield such conspiracies. Implications include a chilling effect on people who file complaints in public-interest matters such as the Medigadda barrage case, and erosion of trust in civil remedies for land disputes. The way forward, on the evidence in this case, lies in a thorough charge-sheet establishing pre-meditation, swift tracing of the three absconders by the special team already deployed, protection for complainants and witnesses, and faster, cleaner resolution of land-title litigation so that disputes do not migrate from the courtroom to the street.

Key terms

Medigadda barrage case: The case in which the murdered man, Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy, was a complainant; further details not stated in the source.
Absconding accused: Named suspects who have evaded arrest; here Kotha Hari Babu, Pula Naresh and Pula Suresh, being tracked by a special police team.
Municipal vice-chairman: An elected office-bearer in an urban local body; absconding accused Kotha Hari Babu is described as a former holder of this post.
MRO office: Mandal Revenue Office, the local revenue administration unit in Telangana; a land transfer near it figures in the alleged motive.
Superintendent of Police (SP): The district police chief; Kiran Khare holds the post in Jayashankar Bhupalapally and briefed the media on the case.

Practice questions

Land disputes remain a major driver of violent crime in India. Examine, with reference to the Rajalingamurthy murder case, how weaknesses in land-record administration and delays in civil litigation contribute to such violence.
Discuss the need for institutional protection of complainants and whistle-blowers in cases involving public projects, drawing on the murder of a complainant in the Medigadda barrage case.
How does the alleged involvement of a former elected local body office-bearer in a murder conspiracy affect public confidence in local governance? Suggest safeguards.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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