Hyd Police nab constable who fired at pharma official

An Armed Reserve constable Obulesh of Porumamilla village of Kadapa district was arrested by the Hyderabad Police for trying to abduct K Nityananda Reddy of Aurobindo Pharma on Wednesday morning near KBR Park here.

Obulesh opened fire on Reddy from an AK-47 rifle that he stole during an operation by anti-Maoist elite force Greyhounds.

Obulesh was arrested by the police on the border between Kurnool and Anantapur districts on Wednesday night from a Bangalore-bound bus. The police, who kept a tab on his mobile phone and his movements after the shoot-out, zeroed in on him through CCTV cameras and  nabbed him.

After shooting at Reddy, Obulesh left a backpack and a polythene bag from which the police recovered a bill that helped trace the shop and Reddy identified the assailant from the CCTV footage of the garment shop.

Police say that three more persons who assisted Obulesh were also taken into custody. The constable, who is now attached to the Excise department, had earlier served at the Central Police Lines Amberpet here. Police also say that the constable has earlier blackmailed son of an IAS officer with the help of the same assault rifle and even maintained a gang of Home Guards to help him in his extortions spree.