| Paritala Ravi | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 30, 1958 Venkatapuram, Anantapur district, India |
| Died | January 24, 2005 (aged 46) |
| Residence | Anantapur district, India |
| Occupation | MLA, Former AP Cabinet Minister |
| Spouse | Paritala Sunitha |
| Website | |
| http://www.paritalaravi.com/ | |
Paritala Ravindra (Telugu: పరిటాల రవీంద్ర) popularly known as Paritala Ravi (August 30, 1958 – January 24, 2005) was a political leader and factionist in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, India. He was a former cabinet minister in Andhra Pradesh and a sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly when he was slain by his political rivals in 2005. He started as a communist/Naxalite in the footsteps of his father who donated his lands to poor people and later entered electoral politics by joining the Telugu Desam Party. He was elected five times as Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Penukonda constituency in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. He produced a film, Sri Ramulayya, based on the biography of his father.
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Paritala Ravi was born into to Sri Ramulu and Narayanamma couple in Venkatapuram, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. Ravi's father, Paritala Sreeramulu, was a Naxalite leader close to Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, supremo of the then-monolithic People’s War Group. That was until G Narayana Reddy, a factionist and Congress MLA, and Sane Chenna Reddy, another factionist who later became a Congress MLA, had Sreeramulu killed in 1975.[1] Ravi was 17 years when his father was killed. Ravi and his brother Paritala Hari escaped that attack.
After losing his father and brother, Ravi wanted to take shelter to protect himself from his rivals. He went to his maternal uncle, Kondaiah, in Seerpi Kottaala village of Uravakonda constituency to take shelter. He married his uncle's daughter Suneetha in 1986 and took up cultivation. Ravi was one of the prime accused for the murder of Gangula Narayana Reddy, Narsanna, Yaadi Reddy.
After Narayana Reddy was killed, Ramachandra Reddy of the Telugu Desam Party became MLA from Penukonda in 1983 and 1985.In the 1989 elections, the Congress formed the government in the state. Sane Chenna Reddy became MLA of Penukonda by defeating Ramachandra Reddy of the TDP. Ravi wanted to take revenge for his father's and brother's deaths. He joined hands with communists (Naxalites). Naxalites had their own ulterior motives to help Ravi and so plotted against Chenna Reddy. Sane Chenna Reddy, who was conspirator in his father's and brother's deaths was killed in kannumukkala village in 1991. By-elections were conducted and Ramana Reddy, son of Chenna Reddy, became MLA in 1991. With the help of a colleague, he found granite in his field. This was the turning point in his life. He became rich after this project and the events leading to the death of Paritala Ravi
People's War Group (P.W.G) expelled Kondapalli Seetharamaiah from the party. He split P.W.G into two. One was P.W.K.S group. Potula Suresh who shot Chenna Reddy was an active member of this group. This group again split into two. One was "Redstar" and other was "Re-Organising committee" (ROC). Potula Suresh was head of ROC and Sudarshan was head of the Redstar. Redstar was favourable to Chenna Reddy's sons and Surya Narayana Reddy. ROC worked for Ravi. There was armed struggle between these two groups and many people were killed as a result of this conflict.
| Person Killed | Accused | Date of assassination | Status of Accused | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paritala Sreeramulu (Paritala Ravi's father) | G Narayana Reddy, Sane Chenna Reddy | 1975 | ||
| Paritala Hari (Paritala Ravi's brother) | 1982 | |||
| Sane Chenna Reddy (accused of murdering Paritala Sreeramulu, Paritala Ravi's father) | 1991 | He was killed allegedly with the help of Naxalites in Kannumukkla village | ||
| Paritala Ravi | M. Rekhamaiah, Joolakanti Srinivasa Reddy, Suryanarayana Reddy alias Maddelachervu Suri, | January 24, 2005 |
The criminal element in politics of Andhra Pradesh was in full view on January 24, 2005. when hired killers hurl bombs near party office and gunned down the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) legislator Paritala Ravindra. The brutality of the murder, in broad daylight was sensational. According to media all this assassination was planned in Anathapuram jail and major ruling party leaders assisted in executing this.
Before his assassination the TDP voiced its fears about possible attempts by his numerous enemies to kill him. As per media at least 12 attempts are made to assassinate Paritala Ravindra in a span of 10 years which he survived . Soon after the Congress came to power in the State in May 2004, the heavy security cover that Ravi had was drastically scaled down. He then petitioned the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which ordered restoration of the 10 gunmen earlier deployed for his protection.
Maddelacheruvu Suri tried to take vengeance by triggering a remote-controlled car bomb in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, in 1997 but missed his target, Paritala Ravi, who was then producing a movie called Sri Ramulayya based on his father's struggle against landlords.
But before the Central Bureau of Investigation could start investigations, one of the accused, M. Rekhamaiah, surrendered to the Mahabubnagar police. Within a week, eight of the alleged conspirators had surrendered. While Joolakanti Srinivasa Reddy, a.k.a, Moddu Seenu (who was later killed in Anantapur jail on 9 November 2008), who claimed in a television interview to have actually shot Paritala Ravi, was at large even on February 1, another person who had allegedly fired at court while he was attending.
After his death, his widow Paritala Sunitha became M.L.A from his assembly constituency Penukonda .
Ram Gopal Varma's Rakta Charitra released in 2010 is based on Paritala Ravi and Maddelacheruvu Suri's life.
Maddelacheruvu Suri was killed on 4 January 2011 by Gun Shot in Hyderabad by his believed follower bhanu prakash for unknown reasons.[2]