Gunmen kill constable on duty in Hyderabad
PTI
HYDERABAD, MAY 14
A police constable at a picket in the sensitive Old City area here was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants in broad daylight and police was probing whether any terror operative carried out the attack.
U Ramesh (26) of Andhra Pradesh Special Police Battalion-XI died on the spot as one of the assailants opened at least two rounds of fire.
The incident occurred near Shali-Ali Banda area under the Hussaini-Alam police station limits in the Old City area.
The assailants, suspected to be led by fugitive Viqaruddin alias Viqar Ahmed, reportedly wore masks and came on a motorbike, carried out the attack and made good their escape even as the local people were caught totally dumbfounded, police sources said.
“It was not a terror strike as such but a determined attack on policemen which some terror operative might have carried out. The policemen were apparently the specific target, the way Viqar did last year,” Additional Commissioner of Police Dwaraka Tirumala Rao pointed out.
Director General of Police R R Girish Kumar said they were investigating the case treating Viqaruddin as the prime suspect.
“We are investigating the case from the Viqaruddin angle,” he told newsmen.
City Commissioner of Police A K Khan said after inspecting the scene of offence that they were investigating who actually carried out the attack and “in what context”.
Hyderabad was put on high alert 10 days ago based on inputs provided by the Intelligence Bureau.
The city police carried out extensive searches following reports that some terror operatives might have sneaked into the city.
The alert was withdrawn following the arrest of Lashkar-e-Taiba activist Zia-ul-Haq, who was working as a cab driver, last week.
Police pickets, however, were continuing in sensitive parts of the city not only because of the possible terror threat but also in view of the communal clashes that took place in the Old City area last week of March.
It was at one such picket that Ramesh was on duty today. Four of his colleagues had gone for lunch after the conclusion of Friday prayers when the assailants opened fire at Ramesh, who was unarmed. In fact, the other four too did not carry any arms, a top police official said.
Ramesh hailed from Madanapalle in Chittoor district and his wife Santakumari is posted as a constable in the Punganur police station in the same district. Ramesh was deputed to Hyderabad for security duties as part of the APSP-XI battalion unit.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah expressed anguish over the killing of constable Ramesh. Condemning the “ghastly incident”, he directed top police officials to immediately nab the culprits.
Rosaiah conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family and assured them that the government would provide them all necessary help.
Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy too visited Osmania Hospital, where the slain constable’s body was kept. “Police face such challenges at times. But they will always remain alert,” Sabita said.
It was for the third time in the last 17 months that suspected terrorist elements attacked policemen on duty in Hyderabad city. Two persons were killed and as many injured in these incidents.
While the role of Viqaruddin, allegedly having links with terror outfits and said to be a member of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), had been clearly established in the first two incidents on December 3, 2008 and May 18, 2009, he is the prime suspect in today’s attack.
An alleged Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) operative Viqar opened fire on sleuths of
counter-intelligence cell at IS Sadan in December 2008 injuring a head constable, according to police. He was also allegedly involved in the shootout at Falaknuma in which a home guard died and a police constable was injured on May 18 last year, the second anniversary of the Mecca Masjid blast.
Viqar, against whom the Special Investigation Team of the city police has already registered a case, is a resident of Old Malakpet area here and had joined Darsgah-e-Jihad-o- Shahadat (DJS), a suspected front of SIMI. Police say he is a strong follower of jihadi ideology and has now emerged as a major challenge for them.
Police Commissioner A K Khan had earlier this month claimed that they had obtained clear leads on Viqar and hoped to nab him soon. But the latest incident, which comes four
days ahead of the third anniversary of Mecca Masjid blast, has come as yet another shock for the city police.
Police sources said when B Prasada Rao was the city police commissioner, there was a plan to equip policemen on special security duties with bullet-proof jackets.
“That did not happen as procuring bullet-proof jackets for hundreds of personnel is not an easy task and will take a lot of time. But, our pickets have to continue when there are emergencies like curfew and terror alert,” a high-ranking police official remarked. .
