Hyderabad: Three held for shooting gau rakshak in Pocharam, one absconding

Rachakonda Police arrested three men in connection with the shooting of gau rakshak Bidla Prashanth Kumar at Pocharam. The attack reportedly stemmed from disputes over cattle transportation and extortion demands; one suspect remains absconding

Hyderabad: Hours after the sensational attack on a gau rakshak, Bidla Prashanth Kumar alias Sonu Singh, at Pocharam, the Rachakonda Police arrested three suspects on Thursday.

The police arrested Mohammed Ibrahim Qureshi (24) of Bandlaguda, Kuruva Srinivas (29) of Shabad and Hassan Bin Mosin (22) of Kalapather in connection with the case. Their associate Haneef Qureshi is absconding.

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According to Rachakonda Commissioner of Police G Sudheer Babu, the police seized the cattle being transported by Ibrahim to slaughter houses and the businessman claimed to have suffered a loss of over Rs 1 crore.

Ibrahim suspected that Sonu was giving a tip off to gau rakshak groups who were stopping the vehicles carrying cattle along with police.

“Sonu was also demanding Rs 5 lakh from Ibrahim to allow him to continue his trade without any interruption or harassment,” said Sudheer Babu.

Ibrahim sought help of his acquaintance Srinivas to resolve the issue with Sonu, who was called for a meeting on Wednesday evening. The suspects, Ibrahim, Qureshi, Srinivas and Mosin, came in a car to Pocharam IT corridor and took Sonu to a real estate venture away from the public road.

“After discussing for an hour or so, Ibrahim went to his car, collected a country-made pistol kept in the vehicle and fired at Sonu Singh’s chest. The victim ran onto the main road and collapsed. We suspect that there were heated arguments between them over the issue resulting in the firing incident,” said the officer.

The suspects then escaped in a car. Local people noticed Sonu Singh on the road and shifted him to hospital.

“Around 4.30 am, we arrested Ibrahim, Mosin and Srinivas. The weapon was seized from them. The country-made pistol was sourced by Ibrahim through a friend in Chhattisgarh,” said Rachakonda CP.

Special teams are making efforts to nab Qureshi, who is still absconding. “The investigation is continuing. Evidence will be submitted before the court,” said the officer.