Hyderabad: Drunk ex-serviceman tries to shoot cop, held

HYDERABAD: A drunk ex-serviceman was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday after he pulled his licensed weapon on a patrolling team constable during a row with a group of transgenders at Ameerpet.
Luckily, no one was hurt as there was no bullet in the chamber when the man pulled the trigger, giving the cops enough time to restrain the accused.
According to Punjagutta police, the incident happened around 3.45am when a patrolling team comprising constable B Sai Kumar and home guard D Ravinder Babu reached Santosh Dhaba at Shabarinath Street in Ameerpet and saw accused G Venkata Nagendra Reddy (36), a former havildar from Chittoor, and a group of transgenders arguing on the road.
Reddy was waving his belt at the group. The transgenders’ group told constable Kumar that Reddy had threatened them with a gun.
“He was drunk and started shouting, asking why I was stopping him instead of the transgenders. He suddenly pulled out a weapon, pointed at my stomach and pressed the trigger. Fortunately, the round was not chambered so it did not fire. While he was trying to cock the pistol, I called up the home guard and both of us relieved him of the weapon,” constable Kumar said.
They alerted night duty SI Yasin Ali who reached the spot and seized the pistol containing six rounds. Reddy, who retired in 2020, is currently working as a driver at a private firm in Ameerpet. Later in the evening, Hyderabad CP CV Anand commended the brave act of the two cops and gave each a cash reward of ₹2,500.
“Despite being unarmed, the brave cops acted with no regard for their own safety and apprehended the offender, which is incredible,” Anand said. Police booked the accused under IPC Sections 353, 307 and Arms Act Section 27.