A CPI (M) leader Samineni Rama Rao (70) was murdered at his house at Patarlapadu village of Chintakani mandal in Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka’s Madhira Assembly constituency in the district.
According to the family members the assailants stabbed him with knives; slit his throat, left him in the 
pool of blood and fled the scene during early morning hours on Friday. Three persons were said to be involved in the murder.
The incident triggered tension in the village as a large number of CPI (M) activists reached the village from different parts of the district on learning the news of Rama Rao’s murder.