City police found a car believed to have been used by the killers of former Maoist and Telangana Rashtra Samithi politburo member Sambashivudu from the backyard of a school in Chotuppal on Sunday.
The car, a Maruti 800 bearing registration number AP 28 AG 3661 is registered in the name of one Sally George with the Rajendranagar RTA.
The former Maoist was chased and hacked to death by unidentified persons late on Saturday night while returning to Hyderabad from Nalgonda district after
attending a 'Dhoom Dham' programme in support of a separate Telangana state.
He was being accompanied by his supporters when the brutal murder took place near Gokaram village, Velgonda mandal of Nalgonda district.
According to police, Sambhashivudu was left seriously injured in the attack and died while being shifted to a hospital.
The police said that some vital clues, including blood stains, liquor bottles and some sickles have been found inside the car.
Forensic teams have been pressed into service and are presently examining the car.
Meanwhile, doctors at the Gandhi Hospital said that the former Maoist and TRS politburo member was stabbed 20 times with sharp weapons. The doctors added that Sambhashivudu died due to excessive blood loss, caused due to the wounds received in the attack.
They had earlier conducted the post-mortem on the former Maoist leader which revealed that he died after about an hour of the attack.
The Maoist leader’s body was handed over to his relatives after the post-mortem. His last rites will be conducted on Sunday evening at his native Dasireddygudem in Nalgonda district.
A gang of about 15 persons chased the car in which the TRS leader was returning to the city and attacked him with swords and sickles. His supporters travelling in another car also received injuries.
According to reports, about 80 criminal cases were pending against Sambhasivudu, including his involvement in the Alipiri bomb blast case.
Police suspect that the attack was the work of the Naeem gang which has been known to have borne grudges with him since a long time.
Sambashivudu, named Konapuri Ilaiah at birth was once an active Naxal before he surrendered in 2009 due to ill health. He had joined the TRS in 2010 and made a party politburo member.