VISAKHAPATNAM: Complaints keep pouring in at police stations against Adari Ravi Kumar, who allegedly duped people promising jobs and roles in movies. The police expect that there might be around 50 victims. The suspect has been committing such crimes since 2010 in Vizag.
Three more victims reported at MVP Colony and a few other police stations, after coming to know of Ravi. The accused had taken lakhs promising jobs to the victims.
In a recent complaint, it was revealed that the accused used to go to a temple often where he targeted a priest.
Claiming that he was a government officer, he had told him that he could allot him some houses, but only on payment of commission. The priest gave him some amount too, but only to get cheated.
The victims’ list also includes a police constable and daughter of a police sub-inspector, who had given Ravi money for jobs. The police say that he had even cheated his builder to claim his flat at Gopalpatnam.
Police said that Ravi had been using the same modus operandi to trap innocent people. Most of the victims are married women, who are not coming out to complain.
An investigation officer of the case, K Venkat Rao, appealed to victims that they could directly approach police commissioner T Yoganand to lodge complaints and their name would be kept confidential.
Police sources said that the accused used to target gullible housewives, women and girls. After befriending them, he would trap them by showing vacant flats belonging to someone else. He would offer to sell the flats at half the price, claiming that he needs money urgently for producing a movie. After taking the advance amounts, he would flee.
He also had asked some girls money claiming that he had a production company. Ravi also used to offer ‘prasadam’ laced with opium to women. After the women go unconscious and he captures their pictures and blackmails them for money.
“The pictures with some politicians and VIPs helped him a lot to gain confidence of people. We expect there would be a minimum of 50 victims and he must have got over Rs 20 crore,” said a senior officer on condition of anonymity.