Chinks in security exposed as man gains entry into Assembly

July 31, 2014 12:40 am | Updated May 24, 2016 02:25 pm IST - HYDERABAD:

Ashok Reddy who entered in to AP Assembly hall being under police custody in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Photo By Arrangement

Ashok Reddy who entered in to AP Assembly hall being under police custody in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Photo By Arrangement

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 ordered

He 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.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.