Criminal opens fire, injures cop outside city pub

Hyderabad: A head constable of Cyberabad's Central Crime Station (CCS) was injured in the left foot after a wanted criminal, Bathula Prabhakar, opened fire outside a popular pub in Gachibowli on Saturday around 7.30pm. The incident took place when the CCS team was trying to shift Prabhakar into the waiting police vehicle stationed in the parking lot of Prism Club and Kitchen.
The team had reached the spot to nab the criminal accused in multiple robbery cases.
But despite the injury, head constable Venkatram Reddy, along with a couple of other policemen, managed to overpower Prabhakar and take him into custody. The cop was later shifted to hospital for treatment where his condition is said to be stable.
"There have been a few burglary cases registered in Moinabad police station recently. We found Prabhakr involved in all of them. So when we got information about him being in Gachibowli, Reddy and a few others went there to nab him. After he was brought out, the accused opened fire in an attempt to escape," a senior Cyberabad police officer told TOI.
Prabhakar, known for leading a lavish life by disposing of the stolen property, was wearing a coat when he was caught. Inside it, he had hidden two weapons. When he was being shifted into the police vehicle, he pulled out one of the guns and opened fire at Reddy, who suffered an injury in his foot. Two country made weapons and 23 bullets were seized from him.
Almost instantly, the policemen grabbed Prabhakar, pushed him into the vehicle, and alerted their higher-ups. Later, Cyberabad police commissioner Avinash Mohanty called on the injured cop at the hospital.
Police officials said Prabhakar is known for targeting educational institutes. There are 70 cases, mostly burglary and robbery cases, against him in two Telugu states, of which 16 in Hyderabad and surrounding areas. He was on the run since November 2023. The accused, reportedly from the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, escaped from custody when he was caught by AP police in 2022.