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A 12-member gang of dacoits struck terror in two colonies on the outskirts of Hyderabad, looting nine houses and killing one person in the early hours of Tuesday.
Rangareddy district police spokesman Ravi Krishna told rediff.com that the dacoits looted Rs 160,000 in cash and valuables and even locked up two beat constables in a house before escaping. But they threw away a .303 rifle that they had snatched from the constables.
The dacoits, armed with swords and toy pistols, went to Laxminagar colony near Jeedimetla at around 0100 IST. Wearing police uniforms, they went to the house of a resident, Yedukondalu, and knocked on his door.
When Yedukondalu did not respond, they broke open the door and beat him up. They took cash and six tolas of gold before locking up the women in one room.
They took Yedukondalu with them and made him wake up a neighbour, Koteshwar Rao. When Rao refused to open the door, the dacoits blew it open with gelatine sticks. They took Rs 4,000 and 10 tolas of gold from Rao's house and took him too hostage.
The dacoits then went to the house of Gokul Chand. Chand's house did not yield anything for the dacoits, who locked up Yedukondalu, Koteswara Rao, and Gokul Chand in a room after sealing their mouths with tape.
They then went to the house of Manikyala Rao, where they picked up Rs 5,000 in cash and moved on to Rajendra's house. His shouts of "chor, chor" (thief, thief) forced them to flee the area.
They then proceeded towards Suraram colony and raided the house of Kistaiah.
While leaving Kistaiah's house with Rs 1,800 in cash and 10 tolas of gold, they bumped into two police constables on patrol.
Before the surprised cops could react, the dacoits had snatched the .303 rifle from them and made off with the motorcycle belonging to the son of another local, Kashinath.
They continued their looting spree, stealing Rs 50,000 and 10 tolas of gold from the house of Anant Rao, a wine shop owner.
But by the time the dacoits approached the house of Rajeshwar Rao, other residents heard the commotion and came out. Anant Rao's brother Harikumar caught hold of one of the dacoits, but let him go after the other dacoits attacked and stabbed him repeatedly. When the residents tried to intervene, the dacoits drove them away by brandishing the rifle and gelatine sticks.
The residents rushed Harikumar to a hospital, but he died on the way.
The dacoits' raid on the two colonies lasted nearly three hours. All the men were in the age group of 25-30 years and led by a 40-year-old. They spoke Telugu and abused the inmates of the houses they raided.
Senior police officers, including Deputy Inspector General of Police (Hyderabad range) N Sambasiva Rao, and Rangareddy District Superintendent of Police M V Ramachandra Raju rushed to the spot and pulled up the local police for their inaction. A 12-member special team was also formed under the Rajendranagar deputy superintendent of police to hunt down the dacoits.
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