New twist in Vanasthalipuram robbery case

The businessman could not give satisfactory reply for storing a huge amount of cash and on further grilling reportedly admitted that he was involved in hawala transactions, which were being carried out under the garb of a bar and restaurant

Hyderabad: The case of businessman Venkatrami Reddy, who claimed that he was robbed of Rs 50 lakh by unknown persons at Vanasthalipuram on Friday, took a new turn with the police on Monday linking the amount to hawala transactions.

Earlier, the businessman had approached the police stating that some persons had snatched away Rs 2 crore from him and later revised the amount to Rs 50 lakh. The police grew suspicious over the inconsistent claims and started questioning him.

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On Monday, the police also searched the house of Venkatrami Reddy and uncovered a huge stash of unaccounted cash in the premises.

The businessman could not give satisfactory reply for storing such a huge amount of cash and on further grilling reportedly admitted that he was involved in hawala transactions, which were being carried out under the garb of a bar and restaurant.

Apart from Venkatrami Reddy, a UB-based businessman and another individual from Riyasathnagar were also involved in the illegal hawala business, police said.

With the help of WhatsApp chats and some records of previous financial transactions in a diary, the investigators are further probing the case to figure out the magnitude of the illegal hawala business.

L B Nagar DCP, Sunpreet Singh is supervising the investigation and two teams are working on the case. The person from old city, who is linked to the illegal business, is absconding.