VIJAYAWADA: The sleuths of Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Wednesday busted a gang that cheated people by promising government medical and financial assistance.
According to a CID, the prime accused, Konduri Rajesh, used IT Minister Nara Lokesh’s photograph as his WhatsApp display picture and impersonated a “TDP NRI convener” named Surendra to defraud victims.
Along with Guttikonda Sai Srinath and Chithhadu Thala Sumanth, Rajesh searched hashtags such as #help_@naralokesh, #help_@pawankalyan, and #help_@ncbn on social media to identify those seeking medical or financial aid. The gang contacted victims through US-based WhatsApp numbers, collected their bank and medical details, and sent fake US bank transfer receipts showing Rs 10 lakh credited to their accounts.
“Impersonating bank officials, the accused claimed that funds were held up and demanded four per cent as remittance charges to release the amount. After collecting the money, they issued fake receipts citing income-tax clearance issues and stopped communication,” the CID said.
The gang defrauded Rs 2.32 lakh from Kakarla Lakshman Kumar of Poranki, Vijayawada. Rajesh used the accounts of the two accomplices to receive and transfer the money. Both are habitual offenders involved in nine cyber-fraud cases in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, apart from five other cases in Telangana, with total fraud estimated at Rs 54 lakh. The CID urged the public to remain vigilant.