A habitual offender, Battula Prabhakar (35) alias Krishnaiah, Bittu and Rahul Reddy, who is allegedly involved in a series of robberies reported from Andhra Pradesh and its neighbouring States, escaped from police custody when he was being taken back to Rajamahendravaram Central Prison after a court hearing in Vijayawada.
Prabhakar is wanted in around 80 robberies and burglaries reported from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the police said.
A native of Vaddapalli in Chittoor district, Prabhakar was arrested by Central Crime Station (CCS) in connection with a robbery case registered with Patamata police of NTR Commissionerate in March this year.
According to sources, the NTR Commissionerate police assigned five AR Police personnel to shift three prisoners—Prabhakar and two ganja offenders—from Rajamahendravaram Central Prison to Vijayawada for a court hearing on Monday. They were returning to Rajamahendravaram after the court hearing.
“When the vehicle reached Duddukuru village near Devarapalli in East Godavari district, Prabhakar requested the escort police to allow him to attend nature’s call. The police stopped the vehicle and unlocked his handcuffs. Prabhakar jumped into the fields and escaped into the darkness,” a police officer said.
The NTR Commissionerate police have formed three special teams under the supervision of AR Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police K. Koteswara Rao, said Police Commissioner S.V. Rajashekara Babu.
Two AR head constables—K.J. Shadrak and K. Sugunakar Rao— who escorted Prabhakar, were suspended on charges of negligence, the Police Commissioner said.
Meanwhile, the East Godavari district police have also formed 15 teams to trace Prabhakar. A team has also been deputed to Hyderabad, said Eluru Range Inspector General of Police (IGP) G.V.G. Ashok Kumar.
“The accused was handcuffed when he escaped. We have alerted the police of Telangana and other States,” he told The Hindu on Tuesday.
“Around 100 police personnel, including an ADCP, one DSP, 10 CIs and 15 SIs, are searching for Prabhakar,” a senior police officer said.
Cash award announced
The police have also announced a cash award of ₹50,000 to those who share information or help the police nab the offender.
Persons having information on the movements of Prabhakar may alert Devarapalli Circle Inspector by dialling 9440796584 or the SI at 94407 96624, the East Godavari police said.
In February this year, Prabhakar opened fire with a country-made pistol on the police when the latter tried to catch him at a pub at Gachibowli in Hyderabad. Venkat Reddy, a head constable attached to Madhapur Central Crime Station (CCS), suffered bullet injuries in the incident.
The police recovered two more country-made weapons, reportedly bought from a person of Bihar, from Prabhakar’s room.
Prabhakar was also arrested in a theft case by the Visakhapatnam police. However, he escaped from the police custody while being shifted to the jail from a court in 2022, a police officer said.
“Prabhakar has contacts with weapon smugglers in the neighbouring States. He would target engineering colleges and hospitals to commit robberies,” another police officer, who arrested Prabhakar, said.
The CCS police brought Prabhakar under Prisoner Transit (PT) warrant from Hyderabad to Vijayawada, in connection with a theft case in March, the police said.
“We are verifying the CCTV footage and stepped up vigil at bus and railway stations and on the highways,” said Eluru Range IGP G.V.G. Ashok Kumar.
Published – September 23, 2025 07:46 pm IST
