Vijayawada: One person attacked on AP Transport, Information & Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Perni Nani) with a trowel at his residence in Machilipatnam on Sunday and escaped unhurt. The attacker, was identified as a mason, tried to assault the Minister twice, but was overpowered by the latter’s gunmen and handed to the police.

The attacker, Badugu Nageswara Rao, from Godugupet village of Machilipatnam Mandal, was inebriated. A large number of people came to Machilipatnam from nearby villages to attend a memorial ceremony for Nani’s mother, who passed away recently, and as the Minister was coming out of his residence, Nageswara Rao approached him and bent down to prostrate himself before the Minister. However, he suddenly took out a trowel and tried to attack the Minister. “In the first attempt, the weapon brushed by belt buckle. He then tried again, but I escaped. My gunmen and other staff caught him,” said the Minister.

The Minister added that he had seen the attacker earlier on a couple of occasions during party-related functions, and was not aware of the reason behind the attack. “I am clueless as to why he tried to attack me.

I do not have any enmity with anyone politically and personally,” he said. Krishna District SP M. Ravindranath Babu said the attacker Nageswara Rao was inebriated and was not aware of what he did. “However, we are also examining the angle of political rivalry behind the attack,” said SP, and added that the Minister’s security has been beefed up.

DGP Gautam Sawang and Home Minister M Sucharitha went to Nani’s residence in the evening and enquired about the attack. Sucharitha later said that though the investigation is in a preliminary stage, it has come to light that the attacker is a TDP sympathizer and had worked as its polling booth agent. It is learnt that his brother is local TDP leader Badugu Umadevi.