Three armed reserve (AR) constables and their two aides were arrested on Monday on charge of robbery on the highway. An SUV and cellphones valued at ₹2.15 lakh were recovered from them.
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The accused are B. Ravikumar, an AR constable in Tirupati; Shaik Siraj and O. Ramanjulu, both working with the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling
Task Force in Kadapa. They, along with their aides T. Venkatapathy Raju and E. Naresh, were arrested by the Renigunta Rural Police near Kayampeta tank on the Tirupati-Pudi road on Monday.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Renigunta Rural Police and Vadamalapeta rushed to the spot and nabbed the five when they were allegedly stopping the passing vehicles and collecting bribe.
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K. Chenchaiah Naidu from Siddavatam mandal in Kadapa district lodged a police complaint on August 7, alleging that the AR constables had robbed him off his cash and cellphone on national highway.
In the complaint Chenchaiah Naidu said that he was retuning to Pichatur in a hired car after distributing invitation cards of his sister’s wedding when these policemen intercepted the vehicle.
Charging him of smuggling ganja, the policemen allegedly beat him up and took away the car records, cash and cellphones. They also allegedly took away the hired car, after dumping him and the driver on the road near Vadamalapet.
Acting on the complaint, Tirupati Urban SP Avula Ramesh Reddy formed a team led by Renigunta DSP S.K. Chandrasekhar, which arrested the policemen and their aides on Monday.
The police divulged the details to the media here on Tuesday.