Close to a week after she was kidnapped on July 23, a 21-year-old pharmacy student from Telangana was found by the police in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district.
The police in three states; Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, had been on high alert and had even offered a reward of Rs 1 lakh for any information about the case.
Speaking to TNM, the Addanki Police Circle Inspector said, "She was found in Addanki wandering around, looking distressed and she approached some locals for help. She told them that the kidnapper had abandoned her on the road nearby. The locals then called her parents and also informed the police."
A team from the Rachakonda police left to Addanki along with her parents and have now returned to Hyderabad.
It all began on the morning of July 23 when the accused approached Yadaiah, who runs a small tea stall in Hyderabad. The accused introduced himself to Yadaiah as Sreedhar Reddy and claimed that he was a doctor who worked at Osmania Government Hospital in the city. He spoke to Yadaiah and came to know that the latter had a daughter, who is a third year student of B Pharm. He further asked about the girl’s marks and performance in academics and offered to help her find a job using his contacts.
The accused convinced Yadaiah that he would help the family by ensuring that the girl got the job, but claimed that he would need copies of her certificates. He took Yadaiah, the pharma student and her brother in his car and said he would help them. Under the pretext of needing photocopies of her certificates, he stopped the car and asked Yadaiah and his son to get the copies. When the two stepped out of the car, the accused sped off with the victim still in the car.
A complaint was filed with the Rachakonda police station who have now identified the accused as 46-year-old Ravi Shankar. Police sources said that the accused had been involved in crimes in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
“Investigations are currently underway. We had issued photos of the victim and the accused to be circulated,” stated a police officer from Tirupati’s Alipiri police station, where the suspect was earlier thought to be.
The car driven by the accused was a white Hyundai i20, with the registration plate number AP39AQ1686.
In a bizzare turn of events, even as the police were on the lookout, the accused was reported to have stopped at a village in Telangana's Nalgonda district and allegedly extorted some cash and three rings from the owner of a shop, impersonating a vigilance official. CCTV cameras then showed him heading towards the Andhra Pradesh border.
"We will record her statement and hopefully crack the case soon. The investigation is almost complete," an official investigating the case told TNM.