A Communist Party of India leader was on Tuesday shot dead by unidentified persons in Hyderabad’s Malakpet area, The Times of India reported.

The incident took place at about 7.30 am at a park in Shalivahana Nagar where K Chandu Rathod, alias Chandu Nayak, was taking a walk, the newspaper quoted South East Zone Deputy Commissioner of Police S Chaitanya Kumar as saying.

The police said that about three or four unidentified assailants arrived in a car and threw chili powder on Rathod before opening fire, killing him on the spot. They fled the scene in the same vehicle.

The police took Rathod’s body to hospital, The News Minute reported.

A case of murder has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act, The Times of India reported.

The police was scrutinising security camera footage from the park and nearby areas, The Hindu reported. They were also looking at whether Rathod had known adversaries who could have a motive to kill him, The News Minute reported.

“He was facing threats from some people,” Communist Party of India leader K Narayana told The Times of India. “Earlier, he was implicated in a murder case. The incident appears to be due to personal enmity not a political one. We are finding out more details.”