Awards for excellence in crime detection presented
Amaravati: Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta presented the ABCD (Awards for Best in Crime Detection) awards to police officers, who demonstrated exceptional investigative skills and innovative methods in solving complex cases. The awards were presented at a programme held at the Andhra Pradesh Police Headquarters on Friday.
The awards recognise police teams that adopted advanced investigative techniques, technological tools and innovative approaches to solve cases quickly and efficiently. For the fourth quarter of 2025, the cases were shortlisted by CID DGP Ravi Shankar Ayyannar, who carefully reviewed the nature of the cases, investigative methods used and the technological evidence involved.
Award-winning cases
First prize: A team led by Prakasam district SP V Harshavardhan Raju cracked a case registered at Maddipadu police station involving the suspicious death of an unidentified woman. Initially treated as a suspicious death, post-mortem and forensic reports confirmed that the victim had been raped and murdered. By analysing missing persons’ data across several police stations and examining the victim’s call data and technical evidence, the police identified the deceased and tracked down the accused, leading to their arrest.
Second prize: A team led by GRP Guntakal SP Rahul Dev Singh solved a major theft case reported on Charminar Express. A passenger’s bag containing gold ornaments, watches and cash worth Rs 48.5 lakh was stolen while he was asleep. Investigators analysed CCTV footage along the train route and identified suspicious movements at Warangal railway station. By tracing a motorcycle used by the suspect through Rapido bike service records, the police identified and arrested the accused and recovered Rs 48.1 lakh worth of stolen property.
Third prize: The CID Cyber Crime team led by SP Adhiraj Singh Rana busted an international cybercrime network operating a SIM box racket. With support from the Department of Telecom investigators uncovered how criminals converted international VoIP calls into local calls using SIM boxes to carry out financial frauds. The operation led to the identification of two foreign suspects, 11 local operators and seven SIM aggregators, and the seizure of 14 SIM boxes, 1,496 SIM cards, mobile phones and routers. The racket is believed to have caused losses of nearly Rs 20 crore in Andhra Pradesh alone.
Consolation prize: A team led by Tirupati district SP L Subba Rayudu solved a murder case registered at Gajulamandyam police station. Acting on a complaint about an unidentified body found in a water sump of an abandoned building, police used clues and CCTV footage from nearby areas to identify the victim and the accused.
The case was cracked and the suspects arrested within four days.
Speaking on the occasion, DGP Harish Kumar Gupta commended the officers for their dedication, professionalism and use of modern investigative techniques in solving challenging cases. He said such outstanding investigations bring honour to the police department and strengthen public trust in law enforcement.
