The gang of men posing as cops who ‘seized’ ₹18.50 lakh cash from a businessman in Hyderabad’s Panjagutta had an Armed Reserve (AR) police constable in uniform among them, said the police. The Commissioner of Rachakonda police issued orders to dismiss the 2018 batch constable on Saturday.
Taking advantage of Model Code of Conduct in force in Telangana, the gang, including AR constable Ballari Srikanth, posing as police officials conducted vehicle checks and made away with ₹18.50 lakh cash from a businessman in Punjagutta on Thursday night. Officials said that according to the businessman, the men showed up in a police patrol van clad in khaki uniforms.
Inspector of Panjagutta police, B. Durga Rao, said that Pradeep Sharma, 30, a private employee, was asked to deposit ₹20 lakh in the bank by an employee of Chimanlal Suresh Kumar Textiles Pvt Ltd. “On Thursday night, he collected the cash from Akshay, an employee of the textiles shop, and was heading towards Khairatabad from Banjara Hills in his car with his driver when he was stopped by two men dressed in khaki. The men showed up on a patrolling bike and within a few minutes, an SUV similar to the ones used by the police also stopped to intervene,” said the official.
The car then picked him up, leaving his driver behind and dropped him at the Khairatabad Metro Station, which is located a few hundred metres away. “The bag was returned to him with ₹1.50 lakh and the gang fled the place,” added the official.
However, it was revealed on Saturday that Srikanth, along with his friends and relatives, had planned the con amidst the stringent vehicle checking across the State in view of the upcoming Assembly Elections.
The Commissioner of Police Rachakonda D.S. Chauhan has dismissed the constable from service. “The Commissioner of Police, Rachakonda has enquired into the incident and knowing the facts of his involvement in the commission of the offence took stringent action by initiating disciplinary action against him and dismissed him from service. Further the Commissioner of Police Rachakonda has warned that if any police personnel gets involved in any misconduct and negligence to duty stringent action will be taken against them,” a note from the official said.
