A man in his late 20s, who was undergoing treatment for depression, walked inside the Andhra Pradesh Assembly by breaking open a wooden door, laying bare security lapses on the highly protected premises on Wednesday morning.
The intruder — identified as Gujjula Ashok Reddy later — was seen loitering around. He was arrested and produced before a local court. Viewing the stranger’s intrusion as a serious security lapse, the Saifabad police decided to submit a report on the incident to the Special Protection Force providing security to the premises of A.P. and Telangana Assemblies. From police enquiries it emerged that Reddy had sudden bouts of abnormal behaviour. Hailing from Pasra village of Warangal district, he slipped into depression eight years ago. His family members and relatives got him treated mistaking his behaviour for Banamati during 2006-’08.
After getting married to Jyothi, he shifted to the city for livelihood five months ago. He was working as housekeeper at a complex and living in Banjara Hills. “Four days ago, he again began behaving strangely, and abused his wife who got him admitted to a local clinic where he was administered two bottles of saline on Tuesday night,” Central zone DCP V.B. Kamalasan Reddy told The Hindu .
He didn’t sleep all through the night. Around 5.30 a.m., he walked out of the clinic and pushed aside his wife when she tried to stop him. He reached the Assembly and entered inside by scaling over Gate No. 1. “The guard failed to notice this but the security in-charge saw Reddy walking inside from a distance. But the latter too mistook him for an Assembly employee or worker,” Saifabad Inspector V. Ashok said. The miscreant walked to the old Assembly building and broke the main door and sat inside the House when he was spotted and taken into custody. DCP Kamalhasan Reddy rushed to the spot on information and found that the arrested person was mentally unsound. The CC camera installed at the gate had recorded his movements.
The incident left the Legislature secretariat officials red-faced. Congress MLC Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, who visited the Assembly premises, took serious exception to the security lapse. He said it was unfortunate that despite two Speakers and Council chairpersons in place, security arrangements were lax. “I wonder how the miscreant can enter the building when gun-totting security personnel man all the entrances into the premises. A solar fencing was also installed but was not functioning for many months,” he said.
Probe orderedHe spoke to the City police commissioner M. Mahender Reddy and lodged a complaint about the incident. Mr. Sudhakar Reddy demanded that the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana besides the Governor, E. S. L. Narasimhan, call for a report on the incident.
Meanwhile, the Legislature Secretaries of the two Assemblies ordered an inquiry into the incident.