50,000 dial 100 every day!

It was 4.30 a.m on Monday. A 30-year-old woman, coming in a Super Luxury bus of the APSRTC from Razole to Hyderabad, got a rude shock when a co-passenger began misbehaving with her, despite the fact that there were more than 35 on board. As the bus arrived in Shanthinagar, 40 kms from the city, the woman alerted the bus driver and dialled 100. The lecher did not realise that he was dealing with a police constable! She knew exactly what was to be done. Within minutes, a police team rushed to the spot. The culprit, a post-graduate, working in a private pharma company, belongs to the same place as the woman in West Godavari district. He tendered an apology after which the woman excused him but not before the police took his details. In another incident, a passerby, upon noticing a group of women thrashing a man at Alwin Colony near Kukaatpally, dialled 100 and alerted the staff about the nuisance on the street. Within 25 minutes, the Kukatpally police rescued the man. It later transpired that his wife had caught him red-handed with another woman with the help of some women’s organisations. The police counselled the couple. These are just two of the nearly 50,000 calls that the staff of Dial 100 have been receiving on an average every day ever since the service was launched on the occasion of Ugadi. According to sources, a majority of the calls are made from Hyderabad followed by Ranga Reddy and Krishna districts. Typically, the callers inform about either accidents, burglaries, petty issues or sexual harassment. “We have directed all Station House Officers to respond to alerts from the Dial 100 staff. In the last four days, the police were alerted about accidents and petty issues. After the police reach the spot, they take statements from the victim and issue a receipt as acknowledgment,” B Raja Kumari, SP, Ranga Reddy told Express. When contacted, Inspector General of Police, Law and Order, J Purnachandra Rao, who is looking after Dial 100 functioning, said he was only responsible for internal work.

By Moule Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com

How a boy's IPS dream crashed

Pasupuleti Krishna (38), who works as a watchman, wanted to see his son as an IPS officer. But the hope died with his 16-year-old son, Omkar, who left this world on his birth day on Friday when his bike hit an oil tanker. Omkar had been an active NCC cadet since his childhood because he thought exposure to NCC would help him reach his goal of becoming an IPS officer. A day after after Omkar’s death in a road accident, grief-stricken parents and other  members of the family could not control their emotion while narrating how he hard he was working to reach his goal. “All our family members hoped to see Omkar do well academically and reach great heights professionally. Omkar’s father Krishna took special interest in him and encouraged him to secure a good score in Class X whose final examinations will commence on March 22. In the early hours of Friday, we received the bitter news that Omkar met with an accident and we were asked to go to police station to identify the body,’’ said P Ramesh, the boy’s uncle. All the family members and relatives  participated in Omkar’s birthday celebrations at his house on Thursday. On that day, as usual, he went to school and had a gala time with his friends. On Thursday, Omkar celebrated his birthday in his class. After finishing study hours around late in the night, Omkar and his two friends Harikrishna and Baghavan Reddy on their way to Uppal to get a cake to celebrate his birthday again. As the bike on which they were triple riding reached the Uppal bus stop, a Indian Oil tanker hit the bike and Omkar died on the spot. Harikrishna and Baghavan Reddy too died later while undergoing treatment at a private hospital. Despite struggling to make both ends meet, Krishna and his wife Lavanya, who runs a laundry unit at Medipally village, managed to save money for the education of their children Omkar and Neha. Neha is studying engineering. To reach his goal of becoming a police officer Omkar joined the NCC and attended camps in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and other places. He was very a brilliant student,’’ recalled M Suresh, a relative.

By Moule Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

City jewellery shops become soft target for hardcore thieves

The thefts at jewellery shops in the city continued on Sunday, with a fourth incident being reported within a month.CCTV footage could not help identify the culprits as it lacked clarity. In the latest incident, unidentified persons gained entry into Lakshmi jewellery and pawn brokers, at Abdulpurmet under Hayatnagar police limits. They decamped with 2 kg of silver ornaments worth Rs 1 lakh. Around midnight, three persons entered the shop by making a hole in the wall. They took away 2 kg of silver ornaments,” said Hayatnagar inspector G Srinivas Kumar. Shop owner Ganapathi Choudhary lodged a complaint, he said. Police inspected the scene along with clues team and collected evidence. “The culprits also tried to break open the lockers where some gold ornaments were kept. They were inside the shop till 4. 05 am. CCTV footage taken from the shop did not have clarity due to darkness,” the inspector said. Police suspect that interstate gangs are involved in jewellery thefts in the city. Guidelines have been issued to jewellery shop owners for taking measures to prevent such offences. Police see the hand of gangs from Bihar and Gujarat, with expertise in opening locked shutters and making holes in walls. After the theft, the gangs move the stolen jewellery to places like Mumbai and sell it away at low prices. In the last few weeks, a woman and her two associates, posing as customers, stole gold ornaments studded with diamonds from MOR jewellery shop at Punjagutta. Elsewhere, culprits made entry by making holes to the walls of two jewellery shops. In another case, shutters were broke open and silver ornaments stolen from a shop under Sanathnagar police limits. “Many shop owners do not take steps to prevent such offences. Though jewellery shops have installed CCTVs, they do not function properly. Every shop should have security guards both day and night and install alarm systems. The alarm device installed at a jewellery shop at Kukatpally averted a major theft recently,” said LKV Ranga Rao, deputy commissioner of police, CCS. However, a majority of jewellery shops introduced the bar code identification system, in which each item has a radio frequency tag, which will check theft by fake customers. Ashok Kumar Gupta, secretary, Twin Cities Jewellery Shops Association, told Express that most of the jewellery shop owners are complying with the rules and regulations set by police.
About 70 percent of the shops have CCTV, he said. “Thefts at jewellery shops in the city take place every year during summer. The offenders come from elsewhere,” he added.

By Moule Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com

Wounded SI was a livewire at Academy

Sub-inspector Nomula Venkatesh who was shot and wounded seriously by a fleeing robber on Friday is remembered by his peers at the Andhra Pradesh Police Academy (APPA) as quite a livewire. The 33-year-old officer was nicknamed ‘Agni’ for his fiery approach to enforcing the law. Venkatesh was hospitalised after being shot while chasing a gang of five that tried to hold up a bank in Medak district on Friday. Doctors at Krishna Institute of Medical Science (KIMS) operated on him and removed a 9 mm bullet lodged in his chest. Venkatesh was in the intensive care unit (ICU), his condition put at ‘stable’. To see him lying helpless was an ordeal for his family, especially 56-year-old mother Ilamma. “Doctors told me he will recover. I’m praying to god,’’ said Illamma with tear-filled eyes. The young officer began his career as sub-inspector posted to the Jinnaram police station in Medak district in 2009. While there, he earned a reputation of being a tough officer. He worked later posted to the Ramayampet police station and then to Kohir in the same district, where the botched hold up and shooting took place. Freshly after being posted to Kohir, Venkatesh started operations against matka gambling in the local villages. “He used to visit villages to counsel people to fight addiction to gambling,’’ said his close friend Giri, who has been selected as an assistant commercial taxes officer (ACTO).  Venkatesh was born in Mandapalli village in Alair mandal in Medak district. His parents, Ilamma and Ilaiah, are farmers. Venkatesh did his post-graduation at Nizam College and completed his B.Ed from a college in Bhongir. He was recruited to the police in 2009.He married Madhuri in 2011 and they have a six-month-old baby girl Vaishnavi.

By Moule Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

Hyderabad Blasts: Bomb blast suspect got driving licence with fake address

Mohammad Abdul alias Alam (25), a suspect in Dulshuknagar twin blasts who was arrested by security forces in East Champaran district of North Bihar on Saturday, obtained his driving license from Attapur Regional Transport Office in Ranga Reddy district. It is also said he obtained the license by submitting fake documents through a middleman. Transport officials got in touch with Raxaul (Bihar) (DSP) Jitendra Pandey and noted details of Alam’s driving license seized by Raxaul police. Meanwhile, the railway police are also verifying the recordings of CCTVs at railway stations for the footage of Alam and Makrani. A senior transport official said the license was issued by Attapur RTO office and preliminary probe revealed that Alam approached a middlemen and submitted a fabricated residential proof. As per the driving license, Alam is the resident of Syed Arcade at Saptagiri colony in Mehdipatnam. Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials grilled Alam after recovering a footage of Secunderabad railway station and photographs of prominent monuments in Hyderabad. With the IB officials suspecting Alam’s role in the twin blasts, Humayunagar police visited Syed Arcade on Sunday and reportedly questioned building owner Syed about Alam’s stay at the house. Syed (56) reportedly told them that no tenant by name Alam lived there and that he never let out his house to unknown persons. Many tenants live in the two-storey building and all are known to his family, he said. Humayunagar police also questioned people in the neighbourhood. Mohammad Alam and his Somali friend Abdullah Omar Makrani had been arrested near the Indian immigration office at Raxaul, close to the Indo-Nepal border, when they were trying to sneak into Nepal.

By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com

Hyderabad Blast: Cops look for clues in CCTV footage

Even as the toll in the deadly twin blasts climbed to 16, investigators probing the terror attack are now relying on the 58-minute CCTV footage that was recorded by a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera reportedly installed by a person in the vicinity of one of the blast sites. Simultaneously, the investigators have also obtained the CCTV footage that recorded the happenings in and around the Sai Baba temple, which could provide some leads in the case. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Crime Investigation Department (CID), which took over the probe from the city police, are examining the video. According to sources, the video was captured by a surveillance camera captured on the premises of a house near Dilsukhnagar junction. The captured images are clear but it is not known whether the police could narrow down on any suspect.  Police have also got the visuals of the CCTV installed near the Sai Baba temple and are verifying them. “We are hopeful of getting some valuable leads,” sources said.  Though there were reports that the CCTV installed at the Dilsukhnagar junction by the traffic police department was not functioning, sources said the surveillance camera was working. “It is indeed working and even captured the commotion that took place soon after the blast but the pictures are of no use to the investigators in finding out the perpetrators,” a police officer said.  The cameras recorded the commotion, smoke, subsequent traffic jam and later it went off with power supply being cut off in the area, the officer said. “These cameras focus on the main road and are to watch the movement of the traffic,” the officer said adding it is almost impossible to come to a conclusion based on its visuals.  Investigators are also trying to come out with some evidence with the help of the video recording of some of the cameras installed in business establishments.A cloth showroom and a game zone in the vicinity of the blasts have reportedly installed CCTVs and are being verified.  Meanwhile, intelligence sleuths suspect that the actual target of the blasts was the Sai Baba temple premises rather than the roadside eatery and bus-stop. “Being Thursday, a large number of devotees visit the Sai Baba temple, which is considered as the Dakshin Shirdi, and they might have wanted to target it at the important ‘harathi’ time,” an officer said. But, sleuths said they had to change their plan in the final minute due to increased security at the temple due to the visit of Hyderabad police commissioner Anurag Sharma to offer prayers. Minutes after Anurag Sharma left the place, the high intensity twin blasts took place in Dilshuknagar.  Meanwhile, the Saroornagar and Malakpet police registered separate criminal cases with respect to the blasts which claimed as many as 16 lives and left 119 persons injured. Later, the case was transferred to Crime Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation. In a related development, locals approached Chaitanyapuri police and informed that some unknown persons came to their locality after the bomb blasts. Chaitanyapuri police said the locals alerted them stating some unknown persons came to locality and they moved under suspicious circumstances. According to locals, nearly five persons came to the locality, including two foreigners. The Saroornagar police registered the case on a complaint by a local of Dwarakapuri Colony, Gaddagolla Anand.  Police registered cases under section 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt), 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons), 307 (Attempt to murder), 302 (murder) 124 (a) (Sedition), 153 (a) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence) read with 120 (b) (punishment for criminal conspiracy), section 3 and 5 of Explosives substances Act 1908 and section 16, 17 of unlawful activities (Prevention) act 1967. The Malakpet police also registered criminal cases under section 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy) read with section 3 and 5 of explosives sub stances Act 1908. It is likely that the NIA will seek to interrogate IM operative Sayed Maqbool, who is presently lodged in a jail in Delhi in connection with the Pune blasts, to know more about his associates in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, forensic experts said that the bombs used in the twin blasts were IEDs and built for causing maximum damage. The forensic experts, in their preliminary report, have said that no RDX was used. “Ammonium nitrate was mixed in a small quantity of an explosive chemical and packed with iron nails and nuts and bolts and 3 to 9 volt batteries,” they said. Timers were used to trigger the blasts within five minutes of each other.

By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com

‘All policemen are not corrupt’

The Traffic Head Constable R Sanjeeva Reddy

Minutes after an autorickshaw came to an abrupt halt on the busy stretch of Lakdikapul-Saifabad, a 50-year-old traffic head constable, who was regulating traffic in front of the Director General of Police (DGP)’s office, blew his whistle and said, “Gaadi ko aage lelo” (move the vehicle away). The auto driver, however, called another auto and started hurriedly shifting three bags into it. The cop then called out to the autowallah once again telling him to clear the area. One of the occupants of the auto then walked up to the cop and offered him a bribe to calm down for a while as they were shifting the material. Smelling something fishy, the constable decided to see what the material was. As he opened one of the bags, he was left aghast. It was stuffed with currency bundles! “When the person tried to bribe me, I thought they must be carrying something illegally. As I was checking it, the person fled. I found that the three bags were full of 1,000 rupee bundles,” recalled R Sanjeeva Reddy, the head constable attached to the Saifabad Traffic Police whose presence of mind led the police to a major catch of Rs 6.70 crore of unaccounted money on Wednesday. The day after, however, it was business as usual for Sanjeeva Reddy who got busy with his traffic control duty at the DGP office. “Sir, all policemen are not corrupt. Though I was offered a bribe, I refused to accept it. I warned them of taking the auto to the police station.” When he asked them about the bags, the auto driver and the other person said they were carrying some valuable material for marriage purpose, he said. After the duo fled, he handed over the three cash bags to the chief security officer of the DGP office while alerting his higher ups. Minutes later, higher officials, including additional commissioner of police, Traffic, CV Anand who were in the DGP office came out and verified the contents of the bags much to their astonishment. “Anand sir patted me and appreciated my work. It was a big day in my life,” Sanjeeva Reddy said with a sparkle in his eyes. Sanjeeva Reddy joined the department in 1983 as a constable and worked in the Head Office, CAR, Law and Order wing in Asifnagar police station. He was promoted as head constable and transferred to the Saifabad traffic police station a few years ago.  Senior police are planning to reward Reddy for his outstanding job.

By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com

Some comments on TNIE web page:

Comments(4)

Country must appreciate Sanjeeva Reddy for his honest duty simply because he is from Middle class.. Because middle class only having good principles and this country to day is progressing means with middle class people only. The poor class (auto drivers will bend to any bribe) the rich class the other person in other end that is the so called owner of the cash belongs to rich class. Our politicians also rich class and their appreciation of Sanjeeva Reddy is not from their heart. People must understand. The statement all police men are not corrupt is correct to some extent

Posted by Mahesh at 11/09/2012 12:31 Reply to this Report 

 

Well done Mr. Reddy. The country needs more people like you. The country is still surviving because there are honest people left who are ready to fight against corruption in an undemonstrative way unlike politicians.

Posted by Vidhi at 11/09/2012 14:46 Reply to this Report abuse

 

Had Mr.Reddy been corrupt he would have become wealthier by demanding more money to allow the auto after seeing the currency.But his conscious never leaned towards the corrupt money but made him a highly responsible,sincere and disciplined HC with moral values.This is a great lesson to all DSPs,IPS officers who earn crores as bribes.I request you to kindly send these mails to Sanjeeva Reddy so that he will be happy to know the public response. Posted by Jayaprakash Katta at 11/09/2012 15:56 Reply to this Report abuse

 

Very happy to read this. India is happy to have such an honest head constable in Sri sanjiva reddy . He deserves much more higher responsibility. Again congrats to him.

Posted by Mohanraj at 11/09/2012 23:33 Reply to this Report abuse