WARANGAL: In a joint operation, the Central Crime Station (CCS) and Palakurthy police on Wednesday arrested a four-member gang that duped people of several crores in a chit fund scam. Through agents, the gang enrolled 28,493 members, collected Rs 11.39 crore and cheated investors of an additional Rs 4.84 crore, police said.
The accused were identified as Teppali Saidulu of Gaddepalli (Suryapet), Manubothula Ramakrishna of Nandigama (Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh), Podila Suresh Kumar of Penpahad (Suryapet), and Podila Sridhar of Huzurnagar (Suryapet). They had been living in Palakurthy, Jangaon district.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Warangal Commissioner of Police (CP) Sunpreet Singh said Saidulu floated a firm in his wife’s name in 2023 and, without approvals, launched an illegal chit fund in 2024 under ‘Hepzibha Firm’.
Members paid Rs 6,000 each, of which Rs 4,000 was pocketed by the accused, while gifts worth only Rs 300 were supplied but shown as Rs 2,000 to gain trust. Members were promised Rs 1,000 per month for 20 months and they could take multiple memberships.
Accused named in cheating cases earlier
Following complaints and fears the gang would flee with public money, police arrested them. Investigations revealed deposits in 17 bank accounts, with transactions worth Rs 5.48 crore frozen. Saidulu already faces more than 10 cheating cases in Medak, Suryapet, Illandu and LB Nagar.
Police seized Rs 5.92 lakh in cash, 684.5 grams of gold coins, 150 grams of gold ornaments, a car, mobile phones, a laptop, receipt books, cheque books, stamps, a cash counting machine and documents related to land and house plots.