HYDERABAD: A 41-year-old businessman and 10 others lost Rs 2.96 crore after allegedly investing in gold on the promise of high returns.
Businessman Akhil Kumar Jain said he had earlier lived at Gagan Mahal in Domalguda, where Parag Kumar Kaserwal was his neighbour and introduced himself as a software engineer and his wife, Anushri, as a law practitioner. They allegedly persuaded the complainant to invest by promising high returns. Trusting them, he invested Rs 21.45 lakh between April and July 2025.
In October 2025, when Akhil sought returns, Parag cited falling gold prices and asked him to wait, assuring compensation for the delay. By February, after continued delays, Akhil demanded either the gold and silver or a refund and was promised repayment.
However, on March 28, Parag, his wife Anushri and mother Nirmala had fled in the early hours. Akhil later realised he had been cheated and found that 10 others were similarly duped, with the total amount involved being Rs 2,96,49,683.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case.
Statewide verification of cybercrime suspects
The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB), along with local police, conducted physical verification of arrested cybercrime accused across the state to confirm their whereabouts.
Police said that in 2024 and 2025, a total of 3,567 cybercrime accused were arrested. Of them, 614 from Telangana, linked to major financial frauds and multiple cases, were shortlisted for intensive verification.
In a coordinated statewide drive, 300 teams carried out field verifications to track the accused persons’ current residence, profession and status. The exercise, part of ‘Operation Crackdown 2.0’, marked the first simultaneous effort to verify such individuals