Hyderabad: Home Guard held for extortion

Hyderabad: The Rachakonda Special Operations Team apprehended a Home Guard and two former home guards who have been posing as policemen and trying to extort money from realtors.

One of the accused persons had created a fake ID showing him to be a sub-inspector of police about three years ago. He used this in many places, including temples, to get special treatment during a visit. The three men were handed over to the LB Nagar police for further investigation.

The LB Nagar special operations team  acting on a tip, arrested the three men and seized from them an air pistol along with pellets, fake identification cards of the ranks of sub-inspector and police constable, an SUV, Rs 36,000 in cash and mobile phones.

The three have been identified as Kasi Reddy Venkateshwar Reddy, 33, Home Guard attached to Abids traffic police station, Devi Reddy Akki Reddy, 42, and T. Ashok, 35, both former Home Guards.  Ashok is Venkateshwar’s driver and blows the police siren fixed on the car.

SOT (LB Nagar) inspector T. Ravi Kumar said that the trio was proceeding to Yadagirigutta to settle a land dispute when they were stopped at Nagarjuna Sagar highway and quizzed.

It was found that Venkateshwar was using a fake ID card that made him out to be a sub-inspector, while Ashok’s fake ID identified him as a police constable.

“The accused persons were doing real estate business for the last few years. Three years ago, they made the fake ID cards. Venkateshwar is currently posted at Abids Traffic police station, and also does chit fund and real estate business. He appointed Ashok, who posed as a constable, as driver of his car. They used the fake ID cards to get toll exemption, to receive special facilities at temples, and while doing land settlements,” said Inspector Ravi Kumar.

The three have been charged with cheating by impersonation and remanded to judicial custody.