Police have identified three persons for their alleged role in the murder of two Telugu Desam Party workers in Vemavaram village of Prakasam district.
"We have identified three main suspects in the case apart from many others. Six special teams have been formed to trace and arrest the suspects. Anyone sheltering them will also be punished," Guntur Range Inspector General N Sanjay told reporters in Ongole.
Meanwhile, Addanki MLA Gottipati Ravi Kumar, a suspect in the case, denied his involvement in the murders.
The MLA, who had defected from the YSR Congress to the ruling TDP last year, said he would quit politics if it was proved that he encouraged political murders.
He told reporters his family was a biggest victim of faction feuds and hence he never encouraged violence.
"My family has nothing to do with faction feuds and the twin murders in Vemavaram were not political. Only my rivals are seeking to politicise the issue," Ravi asserted.
Meanwhile, TDP MLC and Ravi's rival Karanam Balarama Krishna visited Vemavaram village and consoled the victims' families.
He also visited the families of four others injured in the incident.
Six platoons of police force have been posted in the village to ensure peace.
Two men, both supporters of a TDP MLC were killed and four others injured, after they were attacked by some unidentified persons in Vemavaram village in Addanki constituency last last night.
Krishna alleged the attack was the outcome of group rivalry in the party in the area and that the local MLA was behind it.
The incident took place after midnight when six persons were returning home on motorcycles after attending a marriage. They were waylaid near the village centre and attacked with sticks and knives after throwing chilli powder on their faces, police said.
"Two of the six died on the way to a hospital in Chilakaluripeta, while the remaining four were undergoing treatment," a police official said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu instructed the Director General of Police (in charge), N Sambasiva Rao, to book the culprits immediately.
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