Hyderabad: Banjara Hills police were in the news and for all the wrong reasons here on Friday. Inspector M. Narender, sun-inspector S. Naveen Reddy and home guard Sri Hari are in the dock for demanding Rs 4 lakh bribe from a pub owner.
Officials from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), who conducted raids and questioned the three registered cases against all of them and served notices under 41 A CrPC asking them to appear before the ACB for questioning.
The raids were not without any drama. When the ACB officials started questioning the kingpin Narender Reddy, he collapsed on the ground complaining of chest pain. He asked the officials to shift him to a corporate hospital, which they obliged.
ACB officials said that one Neela Rajeswar Laxman Rao, managing partner of Rock Club Sky Lounge in Banjara Hills had lodged a complaint with them alleging that the three were harassing him for Rs 4.5 lakh as mamool for running his pub business.
As the complainant was unable to pay such a huge amount, they demanded 'three lakh. On his own, the home guard demanded Rs 10,000 bribe separately.
"When the complainant was unable to give the amount, Narender started harassing the pub owner. On October 1, the home guard went to the pub and asked the complainant to come to the police station, where they illegally detained him for several hours," ACB officials said.
In his frustration, Laxman Rao approached the ACB, who registered a case of criminal misconduct and conducted searches. There were no arrests as money was not seized.
Incidentally, this is the second similar incident. On July 18, ACB officials registered cases against Trimulgherry inspector B Sravan Kumar for allegedly demanding bribe from a shooter, whose DBBL weapon’s license had expired in February.
Sravan allegedly demanded Rs 30,000 as bribe for processing the file, which he reduced to Rs 20,000. The victim video recorded the entire conversation on his mobile.
- June 6, 2020: ACB officials arrested Banjara Hills SI Ravinder Naik for accepting Rs three lakh in connection with a land dispute in Banjara Hills.
- April 3, 2022: Hyderabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand suspended Banjara Hills inspector P. Shiva Chandra as he had failed to initiate action in Radisson Blu Plaza's 'Pudding and Mink' drugs case.
- July 11, 2022: Banjara Hills inspector K. Nageswar arrested and suspended from service for kidnap and rape of a married woman.
