In a late-night drama Wednesday, a suspended head constable held an officer of the rank of superintendent of police (SP) hostage in a building near the Birla Mandir here, demanding that his suspension be revoked.
However, the fivehour hostage-situation came to an end when DGP V Dinesh Reddy assured him that his demands will be met. When he finally came out of the shuttered storage room, head constable K N Giri Prasad Sarma was arrested and SP E Lakshminarayana was rushed to a hospital.
According to sources, Sarma, who works in the Police Transport Organisation (PTO), was suspended for allegedly stealing spare parts and fuel from police vehicles.
On Wednesday evening, he made a call to Lakshminarayana and threatened to commit suicide and hold him and several other officers responsible for driving him to it. He asked the SP to come to a room in the building from where he was speaking.
Lakshminarayana rushed to the place and, as soon as he entered, Sarma took him captive and bound him up. At around 7.30 pm, Sarma sent SMses from his mobile phone to the media stating that he had kidnapped the SP and would set him on fire if anyone tried to rescue him. He said he had a 30 litre can of petrol with him and demanded reforms in the PTO.
Deputy commissioner of police (central) Tarun Joshi said the SP had been held in a store room in the building. “We tried to contact Sarma on his mobile phone but he did not pick up the calls,” Joshi said. Police requisitioned a fire tender to the spot. “Finally, the DGP talked to the constable and the SP was let off,” Joshi said.
Meanwhile home minister P Sabita Indra Reddy said she would look into the issues raised by Sarma and promised to fill posts of drivers in the organisation, as demanded by him.
Sarma was suspended on May 5, 2012 after he made allegations against his superiors and charged them with involvement in illegal activities in PTO. He had filed a petition in the Lok Ayukta for lifting of his suspension.
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