Babu, a producer for private channel E-TV; Gangadhara Raju, an E-TV cameraman; Srinivas Rao and Krishna, assistant cameramen for E-TV; and Raja Sekhar, an assistant for E-TV, were killed in a car bomb explosion while covering the making of a film.
As they were leaving the Rama Naidu Studios in Hyderabad, their vehicle caught the brunt of the massive blast, which police said was caused by a remote control car bomb parked by the studio entrance. The television crew’s driver, P. Chandra Sekhar Reddy, was also killed. At least 17 others died and more than 30 were injured. The attack is believed to have been motivated by political rivalry targeted at the film’s producer, Paritala Ravi, a former guerrilla leader pardoned in return for his surrender. Ravi is also a state legislator and member of the governing Telugu Desam party.