TDP leader, seven others killed in AP

HYDERABAD: At least eight people, including a TDP leader, were killed in a suspected case of faction violence in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh today, police said.
  
A vehicle carrying K Venkatappa Naidu and his followers hit a lorry at Bodanuru village in the faction-ridden district and soon some bombs exploded killing the TDP leader and seven others, police said.
  
It was not clear how the explosion occurred. Police is looking into whether the bombs being carried in the vehicle exploded or there was any attack from outside.
   
Naidu, a notorious faction leader in the region, had escaped over 10 attempts on his life in the past.
  
Kurnool district in the Rayalaseema region has a history of political faction violence and revenge killings transcending party affiliations.
  
The opposition TDP leaders who visited the spot alleged that Naidu's death was a planned murder and the ruling Congress was trying to portray the incident as an accident.
  
Home Minister K Jana Reddy said the incident would be probed thoroughly and the culprits, if any, would be brought to book.
  
Naidu, his brother and other associates were killed on the spot, and their bodies were shifted to a government hospital at Kurnool.