CPI leader shot dead in Hyderabad: Locals recall panic as gunshots shatter daily calm

Gunfire shatters morning calm in Shalivahana Nagar as CPI member Chandu Naik is shot dead during walk.

Outside the park’s ‘West Gate’, police from the South East Zone cordoned off an area roughly the size of a human body, with a white chalk outlining the boundaries of the body. At its centre lay a large bloodstain.

Vijay Kumar (name changed on request), a local resident whose house faces the park, said: “I heard what sounded like firecrackers. I rushed out immediately and saw four men escaping in a white car after shooting Naik multiple times. They stood over him briefly to confirm he was dead, then drove away via the four-way junction to the left of the park.”

The road in front of the park, to Kumar’s residence, is wide enough for three SUVs to pass at a time. It was the same stretch the assailants used to speed away in their getaway vehicle, a hatchback, that they had rented from a nearby place.

Kumar’s two children, aged 12 and 13, were coming downstairs to leave for school when the shots rang out. “They were terrified and ran back inside. It took some time to calm them down. I eventually had to escort them to their school van myself,” he added.

He also pointed out that Naik’s body remained at the spot for over half an hour before the police arrived. Despite the Urban Primary Health Centre being just a few steps away, the body was not moved.

Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “At first, we thought it was just kids shooting videos in the park again. But the gunshots continued. Minutes later, we saw a body in a pool of blood.” Like many others in the locality, he expressed concern for his safety and said he no longer felt secure taking his morning walk.

Anil (name changed), who owns a kirana store about 100 metres from the site, said he opened his shop shortly after the attack. “People kept coming in, asking what the sounds were and what had happened. The whole area was in a state of shock,” he said.