Following a dramatic kidnap attempt on a senior executive of the Aurobindo Pharma company in Hyderabad on Wednesday, a policeman who was part of the elite 'Greyhounds' anti-Naxal commando force has been arrested.
On Wednesday, Hyderabad's posh Banjara Hills locality witnessed high drama as a man opened fire at Nityananda Reddy, vice-chairman of Aurobindo Pharma, the fourth biggest pharmaceutical company in India. The police later said it was a kidnapping attempt.
The attacker also left behind an AK-47 rifle in the back-seat of the executive's car along with a bag, which is reported to have given the assailant's identity away.
The police have arrested the main suspect, Armed Reserve constable Obuleshu, on Thursday, The Times of India reported. He had joined from the 1998 batch and was part of the Greyhounds till last year.
The bag that the attacker had left behind contained a newly-purchased shirt along with a bill, and the police traced the CCTV footage of the shop, through which Reddy identified his attacker.
The police have also linked the AK-47 rifle to be the one that had gone missing last year during an operation by the Greyhounds, of which Obuleshu was a part.
The AK-47 rifle (number 408380), recovered from the car on Wednesday, is the same weapon that had gone missing during a combing operation at the Andhra Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border on 26 December last year, as per the TOI report.
Obuleshu, who was part of the Greyhounds till last year, is now posted in the Excise Department. He was reportedly on a 15-day leave and was on his way to Anantpur on a bus from Hyderabad when the police found him early on Thursday after they tracked his cellphone.
The police have detained him for questioning as per reports.
Shooting in Hyderabad: AK-47 Mystery Muddles Attack on Aurobindo Pharma Executive
Fifty-six-year-old Reddy was on a morning walk and was set to enter his car around 7am on Wednesday when the man got into the backseat of the car in an attempt to kidnap him. The executive, however, escaped unhurt and also reportedly fired back at the attacker with his pistol.
No one else was injured despite there being many morning walkers in the area.
"One person tried to kidnap him (Reddy). However, he resisted his attempt. Following this, the person fired in air and also at his car. Three rounds were fired in the process before he fled the scene," Uday Kumar Reddy, a top police official, told NDTV .
While Reddy was saved, he tried to grapple with the attacker even as his brother, Prasad Reddy, came to his rescue.
The assailant then panicked and escaped, and he reportedly left behind an AK-47 rifle in the executive's car along with a bag.
"Suddenly this man came and threatened me with the gun. I tried to catch hold of the weapon and also shouted for help and my brother tried to catch him. The person fired some rounds at my car before fleeing," Reddy told the media.
