VIJAYAWADA: Suryaraopet police on Wednesday arrested a woman and her live-in partner for allegedly cheating 57 people to the tune of Rs 8 crore by collecting money from them promising gold at a cheaper price. Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) K Babu Rao said the accused – K Simhadri Nagamani alias Mounika (46) and Sandrana Venkateswara Rao (50) – cheated public to make a quick buck by luring them to buy chits and selling gold biscuits at a cheaper price.
The prime accused Nagamani met Rao 13 years ago, when he was a travelling ticket examiner (TTE) with the Indian Railways. They have been living together in an apartment since 2006. The couple would target gullible people to earn money. They had managed to deceive 57 people including employees of Durga Temple and Vijayawada Railway Station.
The officer explained that Nagamani had developed an acquaintance with a security guard in Kanaka Durga Temple and introduced Venkateswara Rao as a custom’s officer, and that she belonged to a zamindar family in East Godavari. Similarly, Rao lured his railway colleagues and introduced them to Nagamani, he said.
“During our investigation, we found the duo had transacted `14.2 crore across six bank accounts since 2014. Rao used to play cards online and lost `1.32 crore. The duo made `8 crore through cheating.As many as seven cases have been registered against them in the past. A fresh case under sections 403, 419, 420, 406, 120(B) r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code have been registered,” said the ADCP. Police also seized `4.9 lakh cash and 219 grams of gold from them.