HYDERABAD: The Commissioner’s Task Force (South West Zone), along with Mangalhat Police, arrested two habitual offenders for cheating elderly women using counterfeit currency. Police recovered Rs 20,000 in cash and an auto-rickshaw, with the total seizure valued at Rs 1.2 lakh.
The accused were identified as auto drivers Syed Waseemuddin (34) of Yakutpura and Mohd Azam Ali (34) of Vatepally, originally from Amaravati, Maharashtra. Addicted to liquor and other vices, they turned to crime due to poor earnings. They allegedly purchased dummy Rs 500 notes from a Charminar stationery shop.
Their modus operandi involved offering free rides to elderly women walking alone. During the ride, one would distract the victim while the other swapped genuine cash with counterfeit notes.
In one incident, they targeted a woman after she withdrew cash from an SBI branch, forcibly took her bag under the pretext of adding money, and returned it with fake notes. A case has been registered and investigations are ongoing.
Burglar held, gold worth Rs 31 lakh recovered
In another operation, the Commissioner’s Task Force (South West Zone), in coordination with LB Nagar police, arrested Jaganatham Prabhu (33), a resident of Upparpally, for a series of night-time house break-ins.
Police recovered 31.456 tulas of gold ornaments, valued at around `31 lakh. Prabhu targeted locked houses in LB Nagar, Uppal (Rachakonda commissionerate) and Mailardevpally (Cyberabad commissionerate). A case has been registered.