A police constable at a picket in the sensitive Old City area of Hyderabad was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants in broad daylight and police was probing whether any terror operative carried out the attack.
U. Ramesh (26) of Andhra Pradesh special police battalion-XI died on the spot as one of the assailants opened at least two rounds of fire.
The incident occurred near Shali-Ali Banda area under the Hussaini-Alam police station limits in the Old City area.
The assailants, suspected to be led by fugitive Viqaruddin alias Viqar Ahmed, reportedly wore masks and came on a motorbike, carried out the attack and made good their escape even as the local people were caught totally dumbfounded, police sources said. “It was not a terror strike as such but a determined attack on policemen which some terror operative might have carried out. The policemen were apparently the specific target, the way Viqar did last year,” additional commissioner of police Ch. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao pointed out.
DGP R.R. Girish Kumar said they were investigating the case treating Viqaruddin as the prime suspect. “We are investigating the case from the Viqaruddin angle,” he told newsmen.
City commissioner of police A.K. Khan said after inspecting the scene of offence that they were investigating who actually carried out the attack and “in what context”.
Hyderabad was put on high alert 10 days ago based on inputs provided by intelligence bureau. The city police carried out extensive searches. —PTI