A Right to Information activist was killed in Telangana's Jangaon district in an apparent fallout of a land issue and three persons have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and killing the retired Mandal Parishad development officer, the police said on Monday.
The killing of 70-year-old Nalla Ramakrishnaiah came to light on Sunday when his body was found in a water-filled quarry, three days after he went missing, they said.
The victim's son had earlier filed a missing complaint.
G Anjaiah, the prime accused had a dispute with Ramakrishnaiah and nursed a grudge over the latter complaining against him to government officials over a land issue, police said.
He allegedly hired a contract killing gang to eliminate Ramakrishnaiah, a police official said.
The gang allegedly kidnapped Ramakrishnaiah on June 15 at Pochannapeta.
They "strangled" him to death using a towel and dumped the body in a quarry pond, the police said.
The police apprehended Anjaiah and two contract killers on Sunday and efforts are on to nab other absconding accused.
Ramakrishnaiah had filed RTI applications, civil suits in the court and had also approached Human Rights Commission against Anjaiah for cancellation of pattas (land deeds) pertaining to a government-assigned land in Pochannapet village which the latter had allegedly occupied.
This had led to personal enmity between them, and Anjaiah hired the gang to kill the former MPDO, police said.
The prime accused, who is the husband of a local Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency member belonging to the ruling Bharati Rashtra Samiti, contacted a man named Tirupati and offered him to pay Rs 8 lakh for eliminating Ramakrishnaiah.
Tirupati agreed to do the job and took an advance amount of Rs 50,000 from Anjaiah, police said.
The gang members allegedly kidnapped Ramakrishnaiah in a car on June 15 and later killed him and dumped the body, police added.
