HYDERABAD: A major security lapse at the Telangana Secretariat came to light after a man, posing as a government employee, infiltrated the tightly-guarded complex and attempted to take a selfie with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy after his press conference on Tuesday.
According to Telangana Special Protection Force (TGSPF) officials, the accused, Tadakamala Bhaskar Rao, had entered the building multiple times over the past few years using a counterfeit ID card, which indicated that he was a junior assistant in the Revenue department, issued on June 5, 2020.
Following the chief minister’s press conference on January 28, a duty personnel saw Bhaskar “roaming suspiciously” in the corridor of the ground floor and attempting to take a selfie with the chief minister in the background, the FIR said.
An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) stopped and questioned the suspect, who provided unrelated answers. He was subsequently taken to the chief security officer’s (CSO) office. Upon further inquiry, he failed to produce a visitor pass but a search revealed an identity card, issued by the Secretariat, on his person. However, after verification with the SB Secretariat authorities, it was confirmed that the ID card was fake. The suspect later confessed to using a counterfeit ID card to gain frequent access to the Secretariat premises, the FIR added.
The TGSPF apprehended the accused and lodged a complaint at the Saifabad police station the same day.
Collusion with Secretariat employee
A police official said Bhaskar had created the fake ID card with the assistance of Ravi, an employee of the Secretariat.
When contacted, TGSPF officials at the Secretariat said they were unaware of how long Bhaskar had been entering the building. “We caught him and handed him over to the Saifabad police, but we do not have further details,” an official told TNIE.