Hyderabad: The murder of a driver in Hyderabad has taken a sensational turn, with police arresting an IAS officer for allegedly helping his son in covering up the crime.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone) A. Venkateshwara Rao told journalists on Wednesday that the IAS officer Dhrawat Venkateshwara Rao and his son Venkat Sukurat have confessed to the crime.

While Sukurat had killed the driver Bhukya Nagaraju in a brawl atop the terrace of a building in Yusufguda on Friday last, his father had tried to help him in disposing off the dead body and misleading the police by lodging a complaint of his driver being untraceable. However during the questioning by the police Sukurat confessed that the driver died when he hit him with a brick during a fight. He told the police that he was angered when the driver tried to have homosexual relations with him.

According to the police Nagaraju was working as a driver for Dhrawat Venkateshwara Rao for the last six years and during last two years he had developed close friendship with the officer’s son Venkat Sukurat and the two used to go to remote places for drinking liquor. The police suspect that the two had developed homosexual relations during these visits.

Dhrawat Venkateshwara Rao, joint director in the state Agriculture Department had developed difference with his wife and was living alone.

On Friday last the driver and the 19 year old boy had gone to the terrace of Sai Kalyan apartments’ terrace in Yusufguda where they consumed liquor. During the subsequent brawl, the boy allegedly hit the driver with a brick and fled from the scene.

When he informed the father about the incident, the IAS officer decided to save his son by getting the body disposed at some deserted location. With this plan the son went to the building on Saturday evening and tried to bring down the body stuffed in a bag while the father waited in the car on the road. However alerted by the foul smell the residents stopped Sukurat and questioned. Afraid of getting caught the boy fled out of the building leaving behind the body and on seeing him running, the IAS officer also fled in his car.

On Sunday the father devised another plan and went to the Jubilee Hills police station and lodged a complaint of the driver going missing. He also told the police that when his son went to Sai Kalyan apartment to search for the driver the residents mistook him for a thief.

However by then the police with the help of the CCTV footage had identified Sukurat as the suspect and subjected him to intense questioning leading to the confession.

Deputy Commissioner said that the police have booked a case under section 201 and 212 of Indian Penal Code against the father. As he was not taking any food for the last two days and weakened, the IAS officer was admitted to a private hospital.