Cop's Greed: Meerpet Constable Booked for Stealing Gold and Cash from Dowry Death Case
A Meerpet police constable allegedly stole cash and gold seized from a dowry death case, transferring funds to his wife's account.
In a shocking breach of trust, a police constable from the Meerpet Police Station in Hyderabad has been booked for the alleged misappropriation of evidence and valuables seized during a dowry death investigation. The officer, entrusted with safeguarding the case property, is accused of stealing cash and pledging gold ornaments for his own gain.
The Original Tragedy: A Dowry Death Investigation
The sequence of events began on July 30, when a case was registered following a complaint by Gatla Padma. Her daughter, Kotturu Hema, had died by hanging, allegedly driven to the extreme step by harassment over dowry from her husband, Kotturu Raj Kumar, and his family members.
As the investigation unfolded, police apprehended at least five accused individuals, who were subsequently remanded. During the process, the investigating team seized several items under panchanamas, including mobile phones and a significant amount of gold and silver ornaments.
The Betrayal of Trust
On August 22, these seized items were handed over to PC N Sravan Kumar (PC 10464) at the Meerpet Police Station. The transfer was done under proper acknowledgement and took place in the presence of the Station House Officer (SHO) of Meerpet and Sector SI Uma Maheswari.
However, it later came to light that the constable had used his position of trust to siphon off the case property. Investigations revealed a calculated series of thefts:
- Digital Theft: Sravan Kumar allegedly accessed the mobile phone of the primary accused (A1) and illegally transferred Rs 1,70,000. Out of this, Rs 1,37,000 was transferred directly to his wife's bank account, while the remaining balance was sent to an individual named Mallakedi Shivajee.
- Gold Pledging: The constable is further accused of taking 122.2 grams of gold ornaments, which had been seized from the second accused (A2), and pledging them for a sum of Rs 12,37,000.
- Evidence Tampering: In another breach of protocol, he allegedly handed over the mobile phone belonging to the fifth accused (A5) back to the accused person.
Legal Action Initiated
The misappropriation was brought to light after a complaint was lodged on October 27 by the Inspector of Police, B Shobhan. Following the complaint, a fresh case has been registered (Cr. No. 1538/2026) against the constable.
PC N Sravan Kumar now faces serious charges under Sections 316(5) and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as well as Sections 66(c) and 66(D) of the IT Act, 2000, relating to computer-related offenses and cheating by personation using computer resources.
The FIR was issued by SI P Mallaiah, and the investigation into the constable's actions is currently being led by Detective Inspector S Mattam Raju.