Constable defies death, bags Police Gallantry award for Telangana

The knife tore through his chest, piercing his lung and emerging from his back. Blood was pouring down his uniform. Yet, Police Constable Katravath Raju Naik refused to let go of the man who had just tried to kill him.

It was the afternoon of January 5, 2023 in Yellammabanda’s Sikh Colony. Naik, then posted with the Special Operation Team (SOT), Madhapur, was part of a team tracking a 19-year-old murder accused, Sardar Chamkorthi alias Karan Singh. The suspect had slipped through twice – Sanathnagar railway station and then Jagadgirigutta, before the team cornered him. Naik grabbed him by the left arm, another constable held his right. In a sudden frenzy, Singh pulled out a knife and drove it into Naik’s chest.

“I used both hands to pull out the knife. I rendered him immobile after a blow to his head and pinned him down for almost 20 minutes until my teammates arrived,” Naik recalled. “I was bleeding heavily, my body was giving up, but I knew I couldn’t let him escape.”

Even as his breathing grew ragged, Naik held the suspect down. When reinforcements arrived, Singh was taken into custody, later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2025. Naik, meanwhile, was rushed in the rear seat of a two-wheeler to Ramdevrao Hospital. Seeing the severity of his injuries, the hospital staff recommended he be shifted to a private hospital for better treatment.

Senior officers, led by former Cyberabad Commissioner Stephen Raveendra, arranged a green channel. The ambulance reached Medicover Hospital in under eight minutes, with surgeons on the job as they sped through traffic.

The injury had punctured his lung. Three open-chest surgeries followed. He was in a coma for four days and hospitalised for 45 days after that. His wife, unable to eat for nearly two weeks, stayed by his side, while his two children, Sailesh, then in Class 8 and Navonika, in Class 7, waited anxiously for updates.

“They were all scared, but they stood by me and supported me to return to the force,” Naik said.

After 3-4 months of being at rest, 41-year-old Naik rejoined duty, determined not to let the attack define him. Even now, Naik cannot take on heavy physical work, and sharp pain grips his chest whenever he is under strain, but the discomfort, he says, will never stop him from serving in uniform. This year, he was promoted to Head Constable with Kollur police under Cyberabad commissionerate, a recognition of his resilience and service.

This Independence Day, he is the only officer from Telangana to be conferred the Police Medal for Gallantry. For Naik, the honour is bittersweet- a reminder of how close he came to losing his life and of the officers who saved it. “I owe my life to my colleagues and the doctors,” he said. “I am happy for the award, but this is also for everyone who stood by me.”

As for how he will celebrate, Naik smiled. “My children study at a private institute in Ibrahimpatnam and live in hostels. They don’t know about the award yet. When they call me in the evening, that’s when I’ll share the news with them,” he said.