Dispute Over Neem Tree Triggers Brutal Double Murder in Suryapet

SURYAPET: A bitter feud over the felling of a neem tree took a horrific turn in Suryapet district, escalating into a double murder that shook the local community and left a police officer injured during the ensuing violence.

The fatal confrontation erupted on Saturday morning when Manda Venkateshwarlu attempted to chop down branches from a contested neem tree. Bhukya Saida, who had been locked in an ongoing dispute with Venkateshwarlu over the tree, confronted him to stop the felling. As the argument intensified, Saida’s son, Bhukya Ramu, rushed to the scene armed with an axe and brutally attacked Venkateshwarlu, killing him on the spot.

The violence quickly spiraled out of control. In the chaotic aftermath, Saida intervened to halt his son’s bloody rampage, only for Ramu to turn the weapon on his own father. Saida sustained fatal axe strikes and died at the scene. Investigators note that Ramu allegedly struck his father during the commotion in a desperate bid to frame the opposing faction for the second death.

Outraged by the killings, local villagers gathered outside Ramu’s residence and pelted stones at the house. A police team led by Mellacheruvu Sub-Inspector Naveen Kumar rushed to the location to disperse the crowd and establish order. While attempting to bring the situation under control, SI Naveen Kumar suffered severe head injuries from the stone-pelting. He was immediately transported to a nearby Area Hospital for treatment.

Reinforcements were deployed to the village to prevent further retaliatory clashes, and heavy police picketing remains in place. The main suspect, Bhukya Ramu, was apprehended shortly after fleeing the scene. Police have registered cases covering murder and assault on public servants, and an investigation into the full timeline of the tree dispute and subsequent violence is underway.