HYDERABAD: After reportedly incurring losses in online betting, a sub-inspector (SI) working at the Amberpet police station, B Bhanu Prakash Reddy, allegedly sold his service revolver and the gold recovered from an accused in a theft case. The matter came to light after police detained and questioned him about the missing revolver and gold.
This development comes close on the heels of the suspension of Task Force SI D Srikanth Goud by Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar for allegedly helping two accused escape from police custody. The escaped persons were later arrested and an investigation was launched.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior police official said that Bhanu Prakash had been working at the Amberpet police station for the past one-and-a-half years.
A 2020 batch officer hailing from Kadapa district, Bhanu Prakash recently cleared the Group II examination conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC). According to a source in the police department, after being selected for the Group II post, he applied for relieving orders from the Telangana police a few days ago and surrendered his ID card, but failed to hand over his service revolver. When senior officials asked him to return the weapon to process the relieving orders, the SI claimed that it was missing.
Following an internal inquiry, the police suspended him on Saturday for gross negligence. “We suspect that he pledged the gold recovered from a theft accused after suffering losses in online betting,” a senior police official said.
In addition to the suspension, two cases have been registered against Bhanu Prakash for criminal breach of trust and dereliction of duty.
The SI had handled a case involving the theft of 50 grams of gold ornaments from the house of complainant Sathya Mangala Venkataramana. He recovered 43 grams of gold from the complainant’s maidservant and conveyed the recovery to Venkataramana. The case was settled in a Lok Adalat on September 17.
However, when Venkataramana later approached the SI for the return of the gold, Bhanu Prakash claimed he was on leave in Vijayawada and continued to delay the handover on one pretext or another.