The AK 47 left in Aurobindo Pharma Vice Chairman K Nityananda Reddy's car
The man who tried to kidnap a top industrialist in Hyderabad on Wednesday, armed with an AK 47, is allegedly a policeman who was part of the "Greyhounds", an elite anti-Naxal commando force, till last year.
Obuleshu, a 1998-batch Andhra Pradesh Special Police constable, has emerged as the main suspect in the attack on K Nityananda Reddy, Vice Chairman of Aurobindo Pharma, at KBR Park in the city's upscale Banjara Hills area.
He is now with the Excise Department and was reportedly on a 15-day earned leave.
The police found him on a bus to Anantapur, some 300 km from Hyderabad. It is not confirmed whether he has been arrested.
The police say he was part of an operation in Vizag last year, when an AK 47 went missing. It was reported lost by the Greyhounds.
He was reportedly identified by a grocery bill in the bag left yesterday in Mr Reddy's car. CCTV footage at the shop that gave the bill showed a man wearing the same cap that was found in the bag. The police also tracked his mobile phone calls.
On Wednesday, Mr Reddy had just finished his morning walk and sat in his Audi car when the attacker pushed his way in from the other side into the front seat, took out an AK-47 from his bag and pointed it at him.
"I told him 'if you want I will give you money', even as I pushed the barrel of the gun towards the roof of the car and shouted for help,'' Mr Reddy told NDTV.
His brother, Prasad, saw Mr Reddy struggling with the intruder and rushed to the car. Three bullets were fired inside the car. The two men managed to overpower the attacker and pull him outside the car where at least five more shots were fired.
The attacker left behind his AK-47 and the bag that later led the police to him.
Six months ago, an AK 47 was allegedly used when the grandson of a former chief secretary was kidnapped. A ransom of some Rs 10 lakh was reportedly paid. Police suspect this was a similar attempt.