Hyderabad Court Allows Two-Day Custody of Accused Trainee IPS Officer

A trainee Indian Police Service (IPS) officer accused of sexually assaulting, harassing and attempting to murder a fellow probationer at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) was taken into two-day police custody on Thursday, as investigators intensified their probe into the high-profile case.

The accused was subjected to extensive questioning by the Attapur Police, who are examining digital evidence, mobile phone data, social media activity, call records, financial transactions and witness statements. Investigators are also verifying the sequence of events and communications between the accused and the complainant to establish the timeline of the alleged offences.

The officer was arrested last month and remanded to judicial custody on July 29. Although police sought seven days of custodial interrogation to collect additional evidence, the local court permitted only two days, following which the accused was brought from jail for questioning.

According to the investigation, the 33-year-old officer, a native of Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, previously served as a police constable before clearing the UPSC Civil Services Examination and joining the 2025 IPS batch. After completing the foundation course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie, he began phase-one training at SVPNPA in Hyderabad in December 2025.

Police said the accused first came into contact with the woman trainee IPS officer through social media in 2025 after she responded to a post describing his journey from constable to IPS officer. Their online conversations gradually developed into a personal relationship, with the two frequently communicating over phone and social media.

Investigators, however, claim the relationship deteriorated during their training. The accused allegedly became overly possessive, subjected the complainant to emotional pressure, repeatedly threatened suicide and intimidated her by displaying weapons. Police also alleged that he damaged her laptop, created fake social media accounts after she blocked him, threatened to leak private conversations and contacted her family members and colleagues without her consent.

According to investigators, the complainant eventually ended the relationship and later married another person. Despite this, the accused allegedly continued to harass her by creating new online profiles, threatening to disclose private messages and repeatedly contacting people associated with her.

In her complaint, the woman officer leveled several serious allegations, claiming that the accused forcibly restrained her, dragged her by the hair into a room, attempted to strangle her and threatened her with a knife. She further alleged that he secretly recorded private videos and later used them to blackmail her. These allegations are currently under investigation and have not been tested in court.

Based on the complaint, the Attapur Police registered a case under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges related to sexual harassment, stalking, wrongful confinement and attempt to murder, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The investigation is being supervised by the Women Safety Wing, which handles crimes against women involving digital and cyber evidence.