Was Nayeem threatening TRS legislators?

HYDERABAD: Dreaded renegade Maoist Mohammed Nayeemuddin, an accused in over 50 cases including the sensational murder of senior IPS officer K S Vyas, was shot dead by the police in an encounter in Shadnagar in Mahbubnagar district on Monday morning. Incidentally, Nayeem's name had cropped up in the Soharabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case investigation.
Though, for the record, it was an extortion complaint lodged by an elected representative's husband that sounded the death knell for the 45-year-old gangster from Nalgonda, the real reason appears to be his threats to several TRS leaders, including some ministers, which forced police to go after Nayeem, who was leading a lavish life in the suburbs of the city.
On July 16, Dichpally zilla parishad territorial constituency (ZPTC) member K Aruna's husband, Gangadhar, had lodged a complaint with the Dichpally police of Nizamabad district claiming that he received a threat call from anonymous persons demanding Rs 1 crore or face dire consequences. Based on the complaint, the Dichpally police had registered a case under section 385 (putting in fear of injury to commit an extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 66 (A) & (C) of the IT (Amendment) Act, 2008.
Tracking the phone number of the extortionists, a police team, led by Dichpally circle inspector (CI) V Tirupathi, with the help of local cops, reached Millennium Colony in Shadnagar on Monday morning, Mahbubnagar superintendent of police (SP) Rema Rajeswari said.
As the police were tracking a suspiciously moving SUV (Ford Endeavour), they came under fire. "There was an exchange of fire between the police and the group in the car. A person, who was later identified as Nayeemuddin alias Balana, died in the exchange of fire. An AK-47 assault rifle and a pistol were found in his possession," the SP added.
An associate of Nayeem, who opened fire on the cops, is still on the run. Based on the complaint lodged by V Tirupathi, Shadnagar Town police registered a case (crime number: 409/2016) under sections 307 of the IPC, 25 (1) (a), 27 of the Arms Act and section 174 of the CrPC.
However, though police were claiming that Nayeem's death was in an encounter during investigation in the extortion case, the reality appears to be little different.
According to police sources, Nayeem had become a headache for ruling party legislators. Bhongir MLA P Sekhar Reddy was even given a bullet proof vehicle due to imminent threat from Nayeem and it came to light that several MLAs, businessmen and a few ministers had complained to the chief minister about the menace. "Nayeem has been threatening several legislators and key associates of some ministers. He even started blackmailing some ministers recently," a senior police officer said.
According to sources, it was pressure from the political circles that forced the police to focus on Nayeem, who had been leading a lavish life at his four-storied residential building at Alkapuri Colony in Narsingi.
The body was shifted for inquest and post-mortem to a local government hospital in Shadnagar. The SP said a manhunt was launched to nab Nayeem's absconding associate.