HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar on Thursday suspended Central Zone Task Force Sub-Inspector (SI) D Srikanth Goud for dereliction of duty. The SI was suspended for allowing two key accused, Satish Vuppalapati and Shilpa Banda, to escape from police custody.
The duo were wanted in a case filed by P Vinay Kumar, son of former Union minister P Shiv Shankar, who alleged that Vuppalapati, Banda and others cheated him of Rs 23 crore on the pretext of offering high returns. The case was registered with the Central Crime Station (CCS) on September 18.
It is suspected that the SI accepted money from the accused through their relatives. A police source revealed that Goud and a team apprehended the two accused in Mumbai on October 23. However, the SI’s handling of their transit back to Hyderabad showed significant negligence.
Instead of following the standard procedure, where accused are seated in separate official vehicles, the SI and the accused travelled together in the accused’s personal car, while the other police personnel followed in the official vehicle. The SI was further negligent in returning three of the five seized mobile phones to the accused while en route. Using these phones, the accused spoke to their relatives for over an hour and reportedly hatched their escape plan.
Crucially, the SI maintained a distance of more than 25 km between his vehicle and the official police escort, ignoring the constables’ requests to move closer. This distance and lack of coordination allowed the two accused to escape from police custody at Sadasivpet in Sangareddy on October 24.
Following an internal inquiry into the incident, CP VC Sajjanar ordered the SI’s suspension. On Thursday, Vuppalapati filed for anticipatory bail, but the Nampally court declined to grant it. Both accused remain absconding.