Agencies / Hyderabad
Two leaders of the ruling Telugu Desam Party, sitting MLA K Sarveswara Rao and a former MLA Siveri Soma were shot dead by Maoists near Araku agency area in Visakhapatnam district today.
Deputy Inspector General of Police of Visakhapatnam Range, C. Srikanth said, the Maoists attacked the vehicle of party leaders when they were going to take part in a village visit programme, at Lippitiputtu village under Dambriguda mandal along with both leaders.
Both of them were initially kidnapped by a group of Maoists to some isolated place leaving other party workers to run away from the place.
The Maoists also snatched the AK-47 rifles of the personal security personnel of the legislator and the ex-legislator. Andhra Pradesh Home Minister N China Rajappa and DGP (in charge) Harish Kumar Gupta were rushing to the spot.
Sarveswara Rao who won as the YSR Congress candidate in 2014, later defected to the TDP.