Businessman stabbed in Hyderabad, dies

The businessman, who was stabbed by three unidentified persons at Durga Nagar Colony in Punjagutta on Saturday night, died while undergoing treatment at a corporate hospital on Sunday morning.

Financial disputes between the victim, T Ram Prasad (48), and a businessman-cum-politician from Vijayawada were suspected to be the reason behind the killing. Prasad was into iron and steel business in Vijayawada and Hyderabad. However, for the last four years, he had mostly confined himself to the city and set up his corporate office at Punjagutta.

On Saturday night, Prasad left from his office and went to a nearby temple at around 7.45 pm. “It was between 8.10 pm and 8.15 pm when he stepped outside the temple and was walking towards his car, three persons armed with lethal weapons attacked him.

As Prasad collapsed, the assailants left the place and rushed him into a nearby lane and disappeared,” Punjagutta Assistant Commissioner of Police Thirupatanna said.

Prasad’s car driver and office staff rushed him to a corporate hospital at Somajiguda where he died while undergoing treatment early on Sunday. His wife lodged a complaint with the police



alleging that one Koganti Satyam, who was Prasad’s partner in the steel business in Vijayawada, was behind the attack.

She told the police that her husband was continuously threatened and they already filed complaints in Vijayawada several times about it.

In 2013, Prasad is said to have lodged a complaint with the Vijayawada police alleging threat and refusal to give him his money amounting to Rs 50 crore. A few weeks ago, he and Satyam lodged complaints against each other at the Krishna Lanka police station.

Prasad alleged that Satyam threatened him while the latter accused the victim of cheating him to the tune of Rs 70 crore. In the case, Satyam was arrested and sent to prison. The murder appeared to be fallout of the ongoing dispute, the Hyderabad police suspect.

Following the murder, the city police formed teams to identify and track down the assailants, and two teams went to Vijayawada.

Senior police officials, including Joint Commissioner of Police (West) AR Srinivas, visited the scene of crime and CCTV footage was being examined, according to the police.