HYDERABAD: An 18-year-old youth had a messy morning on November 21 as he was running late for his exam. What came as a bigger distress to him was being stopped by a home guard near Lal Bazaar, Trimulgherry.
The victim, a resident of Balajinagar, was heading to his exam centre in Secunderabad when he was stopped by Home Guard near Lal Bazaar.
The student claimed, “This officer literally came in the middle of the road and I had to stop abruptly. Without asking for documents, he asked me to pay Rs 1,500, else he would seize my scooty. I asked him why I should pay. Hearing that, he asked for my licence. When I presented it, he started talking with another officer seated in the car.”
The officer returned to the student and allegedly told him that if he did not pay the amount, he would have to go to the Marredpally court. The victim, who was already anxious as he was running late for his exam, asked the Hone Guard to issue an echallan which he would pay later. “But they did not let me leave or hand over my licence,” the student claimed.
“After several requests, they asked me to leave by paying Rs 500. I told them I was a student and that I do not have the money, but they did not budge. So I called up a friend and asked him to send me Rs 500. When I offered to pay, they showed me a QR code, which I suspect belongs to a local shop, so that there is no proof of money being transferred into their accounts,” the victim said.
“I asked them for their names after making the payment, but they did not respond. An officer stepped out of the car and threatened that if I didn't leave, they would seize my scooty. I saw two others including a delivery agent standing beside the patrol car. Not sure if it was the same case with them.”
Deccan Chronicle took the matter to Trimulgherry police station house officer G. Nagaraju, who replied: “We can never tolerate something like this. We have identified the officer who was on patrol duty that day, and will be taking strict action. This has happened before, and we had taken strict action then as well. We will be submitting a report to the higher officials within two days. Based on that, action would be taken.”
Speaking of other officials involved, the SHO said, “There were two constables accompanying him on the same day as per my knowledge. We are collecting evidence and will be taking strict action against them as well. We will also catch hold of these shopkeepers helping them carry out transactions or ascertain what their role is in this.”
