KRISHNA: Andhra Pradesh Transport and Information and Public Relations minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) escaped a murder attempt after he was attacked with a trowel by a person at his residence in Machilipatnam on Sunday afternoon.
The attacker identified as Badudgu Nageswara Rao was reported to be a mason from Machilipatnam, was handed over to the police and the Minister said that he was safe.
Speaking to the media after the attack, the Minister said that many people from nearby villages came home on Sunday to attend the funeral ceremony of his mother who had passed away recently. As he was coming out of his residence, a man came towards the him and tried to touch his feet and in the process he whipped out a small trowel used for masonry work and tried to attack him in the abdomen. “The weapon brushed the buckle of my trouser. The person tried to attack me once again but the people around me caught him,” Nani told reporters. The Minister said he saw the attacker on a couple of occasions but was not really sure of the reason behind the attack but said that he was safe.
According to CI Venkataramana the attacker was in an inebriated condition and belonged to Chemmannagiri peta. He said that the police are investigating the criminal history of Nageshwara Rao and that they were examining the case in all angles, including that of any old enmities.
Minister for Civil Supplies Kodali Nani, YSRCP Party leader Talashila Raghuram, MLAs Jogi Ramesh and Vallabhaneni Vamsi called up Perni Nani and enquired about his well-being after getting to know about the attack.
