Hyderabad: The police on Friday officially confirmed the arrest of 37-year-old R. Obulesu, a police constable of the excise department and a former Greyhounds commando, for his involvement in Wednesday’s KBR Park shooting.
Obulesu tried to kidnap Aurobindo Pharma’s vice-chairman K. Nityananda Reddy to demand ransom.
“The motive behind the kidnap attempt was to demand a huge ransom from any person arriving in high-end luxury cars to KBR Park. Aurobindo Pharma’s vice-chairman K. Nityananda Reddy was not a specific target,” said Hyderabad police commissioner M. Mahender Reddy.
He added that Obulesu used to randomly pick a target arriving in a luxury car. “It was his second attempt at the KBR Park,” said Mr Reddy. “Obulesu was successful in his first attempt to kidnap a walker in February this year. He had extorted Rs 10 lakh from the victim and the same AK-47 rifle was used in both the offences,” he added.
Mr Reddy, however, did not reveal the victim’s name and said that they would book the earlier case too if the victim came forward with a complaint.
Mr Reddy said that Obulesu, who had worked in the Greyhounds commando force for nearly 12 years, had stolen the AK-47 and a loaded magazine from the Greyhounds unit at Gandipet in December 2013.
Under the pretext of cleaning weapons, he entered the Bell of Arms, hid the rifle in his jacket and left the premises. He hid the weapon under rocks in the Orvakal village of Kurnool district and retrieved it a week before Wednesday’s kidnap attempt. He kept the weapon with him at his Narsingi residence.
“Apart from the clues at the scene of offence CCTV footage helped us in identifying the accused,” said the commissioner.
Bachelor Obulesu was addicted to luxuries and had picked up bad habits, which the cops said were the reasons behind committing the crimes.
The commissioner admitted that it was a matter of concern for the police department to see their men getting involved in crimes, "We need to have some mechanism to look at an individual's mental state too," he said.
The police has registered a case under Sections 307, 364(A) and 511 of IPC and Sections 25(1) (b) and 27 of the Indian Arms Act.
Apart from the AK-47 rifle and magazine, seven live rounds, 10 empty cartridges, a rope, knife and a wig were also recovered.
