The policeman, who opened fire from a stolen AK-47 at a top executive of a pharma company here Wednesday, had abducted "a person with luxury car" from the same area and extorted Rs.10 lakh in February, police said.Police, however, has not named the victim.Constable P. Obulesu, who stole the firearm in December last year from the armoury of anti-Maoist force Greyhounds at Gandipet here, took the victim to Kotthur of Mahaboobnagar district and left him there along with the car.Hyderabad Police Commissioner Mahender Reddy Friday said as there was no complaint in this case, police didn't take any action.The extortion by the policeman came to light during questioning after his arrest in Kurnool town of Andhra Pradesh, following Wednesday's sensational incident.
The 37-year-old constable, a native of Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, tried to kidnap K. Nityananda Reddy, vice chairman of Aurobindo Pharma, when the latter returned to his car after a walk at KBR Park.The constable sat in his car, pointed the AK-47 at him, and ordered him to start the vehicle.The man caught the barrel of the gun and, in the scuffle, the constable pressed the trigger. Three rounds pierced through the car's front screen.The victim shouted for help and got down from the car.
His brother Prasad Reddy, who rushed to the spot, caught the constable from the back.In the process, the constable opened fire from the AK-47 and shot nearly 10 rounds.He bit Prasad Reddy's hand and ran away, leaving behind the AK-47 and a bag.Police gathered clues and identified the suspect.The investigation revealed that the constable ran for a while and got into an autorickshaw and later boarded a bus to Kurnool, where he was finally arrested.The constable was working in Greyhounds since 2002 and continued there till March this year. He was since attached to the Central Police Lines (CPL) in Amberpet here.An AK-47 rifle was found missing from the armoury of Greyhounds in December last year.
Obulesu confessed that he had committed theft of the rifle along with a loaded magazine from the armoury during cleaning of weapons and that his main motive was to extort money by using the firearm.The constable had concealed the weapon beneath rocks in a deserted area on the outskirts of Orvakal near Kurnool. He used to visit the place often to check the hidden rifle. After using the weapon for kidnapping in February, he kept it back in the same place.