Visakhapatnam, July 27 Mallela Om Prakash, who had brutally murdered a key accused in the assassination of former Andhra Pradesh minister Paritala Ravi in Anantapur jail in 2008, has died of ill health in Visakhapatnam Central Jail, police said on Monday.
Om Prakash, who was serving a life sentence for killing sharp shooter Julakanti Srinivas Reddy alias Moddu Seenu, complained of a breathing problem on Saturday night. Visakhapatnam Jail Superintendent S. Rahul said that he died early Sunday while undergoing treatment at King George Hospital (KGH).
He was suffering from kidney-related problems and was on dialysis for a long time. After dialysis at the KGH on Friday, he was shifted back to jail but the next day, he developed breathing problems and died of suspected renal failure.
The official said they were waiting for the autopsy report to know the exact cause of death.
Hailing from Madanapalle in Chittoor district, Om Prakash was serving a sentence in Anantapur district jail in a murder case in 2008 when he killed Seenu.
Om Prakash had told police that he killed Seenu after a quarrel over keeping the light on till late in the night. Om Prakash wanted to write Ramakoti while Seenu wanted to sleep.
Om Prakash, then 32, picked up a cement dumbbell and smashed Seenu's head when he was asleep, resulting in his instantaneous death. He had also pierced an iron rod in his eyes and cut off the ears of the victim.
In 2010, a court in Anantapur sentenced Om Prakash to life for the murder and he was later shifted to Nellore Jail, and from there to Visakhapatnam Jail.
The murder had raised many doubts, especially as to how a dumbbell and iron rod reached the barrack.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had alleged that Congress leader Gangula Suranarayana Reddy alias Maddelachervu Suri, the alleged mastermind in the Paritala Ravi murder case, got Seenu eliminated.
Suri, who was lodged at the same jail, had allegedly threatened to kill Seenu if he turned an approver.
Paritala Ravi, a former minister and a notorious factional leader, was gunned down in Anantapur on January 24, 2005.
Suri was shot dead by his aide Bhanu Kiran in a car in Hyderabad while they were returning home after meeting a lawyer on January 3, 2011. Bhanu, who was later sentenced to life, had told police that he killed Suri following differences over some financial matters.
The factions led by Paritala Ravi and Suri were lodged in a long battle for supremacy in faction-ridden Rayalaseema and their factional rivalry had hit the national headlines in 2010 following the release of "Rakta Charitra", a multilingual film by Ram Gopal Varma.
( With inputs from IANS )