HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Central Crime Station (CCS) police on Saturday arrested a 35-year-old priest for duping a devotee under the pretext of appointing him as vice chairman of the Employees Provident Fund Organization. The priest, police said, took Rs 75 lakh from the victim.
The accused, Sonu Kirte Pandey, is a resident of Dadar and Nagar Haveli. His wife Jyothi Pandey and associates Rajiv Kumar Yadav, Ajay Girish and Girish Verma are absconding. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), CCS Avinash Mohanty said the accused had come in contact with the complainant while performing a pooja in the city.
Pandey and his associates had convinced the complainant that they could get him appointed as the vice chairman, a nominated post, in the Employees Provident Fund Organisation. They showed his forged letters, apparently from senior officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Prime Minister’s Office.
Based on a tip-off, CCS police went to Nagar Haveli to arrest Kirte Pandey and later brought him to the city on a transit warrant. He would be produced in a court for judicial remand.