Rogue WG cops arrested by district police for robbery

KAKINADA: Two constables of Veeravaram Police Station in West Godavari district turned robbers by breaking the locker of their own PS and robbing
Rs. 8.04 lakh cash five days ago.

West Godavari superintendent of police Narayan Naick told media that due to four continuous bank holidays, liquor outlet supervisors of Veeravasaram, Rayakuduru, Konithiwada and Nouduru villages of WG district deposited Rs. 8,04,330 lakh collected by them in the locker of Veeravasaram Police Station on March 15 and sealed it.

The supervisors returned to the police station on March 17 around 9 a.m. to take back the cash for depositing in the treasury. But they found that the original lock of the cash box had been changed. Police then broke the cash box and got the shock of their life on finding that the money was missing.

Concluding that it was clearly an insider job, the SP formed special teams headed by Narasapuram DSP P. Veeranjaneya Reddy and Crime Station DSP Pydeswara Rao. They took up investigation with the help of Bhimavaram CCS inspector Nagaraju, Tadepalligudem circle inspector Akula Raghu, and Veeravasaram sub-inspector Ch. Ramachandra Rao, among others.

After meticulous investigating the case, the teams zeroed in on Veeravaram police constables Usurumarthi Gangajalam (31) of Old Pattiseema village in Polavaram mandal and Gorrela Ganeswara Rao alias Ganesh (35) of Ananthapalli village in Nallajerla mandal of West Godavari district. After interrogating the two, cash of Rs. 8.04 lakh was recovered.

Giving details of the case, Narayan Naick explained that constable Gangajalam, who joined Chagallu police station in November, 2013, was arrested in November 2020 while he was gambling in Old Pattiseema village. He was then suspended but later reinstated and asked to report for election duties at Veeravasaram police station on February 2.

The other constable Ganesh too had been suspended previously. When the two came to know that the liquor outlet supervisors had deposited a huge amount of cash in the police station for safe custody, they conspired to rob the amount.

After completing their duty, Gangajalam and Ganesh broke the lock of the cash box and stole the cash. They put a new lock on the cash box and threw its keys in a nearby well. Later, he locked the locker room and slipped away along with the cash and distributed it among themselves.

However, they hid the cash bags in bushes near the Anjaneya Temple at Veeravasaram village. Later Gangajalam took out the cash from near the temple and shifted it to a dust bin. Subsequently, he took the money from there too. This was when he got captured on a CCTV.

Veeravasaram police have registered a case. The SP congratulated the investigating team for expeditiously cracking the case.