HYDERABAD: A high-profile city cop, K Nageswara Rao, who spearheaded the drug bust at Pudding and Mink pub at Banjara Hills three months ago, was charged with rape after a 32-year-old housewife alleged she was sexually assaulted by him at her Vanasthalipuram residence late Thursday. The alleged predator was the same man in khaki who arrested her husband in a fraud case a few years ago and had been stalking her since then.
Rao, who currently is station house officer (SHO) of Marredpally police station, has been suspended and booked for rape, attempt to murder, trespass, kidnapping and charged under the Arms Act. He is on the run and special teams have been dispatched for his arrest.
The cop, who had a successful stint with the elite Hyderabad Task Force and as inspector of Banjara Hills police station, barged into the woman's house, when she was alone, and raped her.
Survivor's ordeal began in 2018; hubby toiled at inspector's farm
Inspector K Nageswara Rao's alleged misdeeds against the woman, who accused him of rape, and her family started in 2018 itself. The inspector employed the survivor's husband at his farm after threatening him that criminal cases will be foisted against him.
The woman's husband was earlier arrested by Nageswara Rao-led Task Force team in 2018 in an ATM fraud case. After that, the inspector made him work in his agriculture field at Ibrahimpatnam and promised to pay 10,000 every month.
The money was transferred into his wife's (victim) account every month by Nageswara Rao till February 2021.
"One day, when the accused-turned-employer was at the agriculture field, the inspector forcibly took the woman to the field. Her husband got into a heated argument with the inspector and threatened to inform the latter's wife about the development. The inspector claimed that he will not repeat it and assured that he had not done anything wrong," police said, quoting the survivor's statement.
"Subsequently, an inspector and a constable went to the woman's house and took her husband to Task Force office and thrashed him. They took pictures and videos of the complainant's husband by placing ganja packets in his hands and threatened to register a case against him if he tries to inform his family members," police said.
Meanwhile, police said that the rape survivor was sent for medical examination and a forensic team has been dispatched to the scene of crime to collect evidence.
About a month ago, Nageswara Rao was inspector of Banjara Hills police station and during his stint with the Task Force, he busted several high-profile drug cases.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
