Amaravati: Cyber Crime Police of the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested a man who posed as 'Telugu Desam Party (TDP) NRI Convener' to dupe people seeking financial assistance for their medical treatment, at the Indo-Nepal border.
Konduri Rajesh (34), from Rachuvaripalle in Sri Sathya Sai district, orchestrated the scam, defrauding victims across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana of Rs 54.34 lakh.
According to a media release issued by the police, the accused was arrested from the Indo-Nepal border in West Bengal's Darjeeling district after a manhunt for over a year.
Rajesh used social media platform ‘X’ to identify potential victims by using hashtags of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, IT minister Nara Lokesh and deputy CM Pawan Kalyan like #HelpAtNaraLokesh, #HelpAtPawanKalyan, and #HelpAtNCBN. He used to collect details of people seeking financial aid for medical treatment and then contacted them via WhatsApp, introducing himself as 'TDP NRI Convener', using a US-based number to appear credible.
To further build trust and make the scam look real, Rajesh set his WhatsApp profile picture as minister Nara Lokesh's. He sent fake bank credit receipts, convincing victims that he was transferring funds to help them. Later, he called victims pretending to be a bank manager, demanding remittance charges to release the funds.
Rajesh has nine cases against him, including seven in Andhra Pradesh and two in Telangana. A total of 16 complaints have been registered on the 1930 toll-free number of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre against him. Police said several other cases remain unregistered.
He had escaped to Goa and then to Andaman Islands after landing in Nepal, from where he continued fraudulent activities. The AP CID tracked him as part of a case registered against him at Cybercrime police station of Andhra Pradesh last year, eventually locating and arresting him in West Bengal.
An advisory issued from the Cyber Crime Department warning people against online fraud says:
- Be cautious of phone calls from foreign numbers promising financial assistance.
- Verify claims of remittance or processing charges with legitimate bank officials.
- Never deposit money into unknown accounts without confirmation.
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