TGSP personnel among 12 held in dummy currency fraud case in Khammam

A 12-member gang, including a TGSP RSI and a constable, was arrested by Sathupalli police in Khammam district for duping people with dummy currency and posing as police officers to extort money. The gang, led by Eeda Chanti Babu, lured victims with promises of converting black money into white and looted them during staged raids.

Khammam: Sathupalli police in the district arrested a 12-member gang including a TGSP Reserve Sub-Inspector (RSI) and a constable who was defrauding, looting innocent people with dummy currency.

Speaking to the media at Sathupalli on Thursday, Kalloor ACP Vasundhara Yadav informed that the arrests were made in connection with a case registered on June 25 at Sathupalli police by an individual, Kurra Gangadhar Reddy of Proddatur, Kadapa district, AP. A special police team led by Inspector of Police T Srihari took the accused into custody at Gangaram on Wednesday.

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The gang used to acquire several SIM cards to call random numbers. If an unsuspecting person answered, the main accused Eeda Chanti Babu of Venkatapuram in Eluru district would introduce himself using various aliases and claim to be a real estate businessman.

He would state that he had Rs 2 crore in black money; was facing income tax issues and wanted to convert it into white money while promising his victims that if they provided him with funds he would return four times the amount either in cash or via bank transfer.

To those who believed his story and arrived at the designated location as directed by the accused, he would send an associate carrying a bag filled with dummy currency notes. While his associate was counting the genuine money handed over by the victim, members of his gang posing as police officers would arrive in pre-arranged cars.

Then they would rob the victims by threatening and accusing them of dealing in counterfeit currency or being ‘most wanted’ criminals. In order to extort money, the gang members even assaulted the victims and sometimes any of the gang members to avoid suspicion.

The TGSP Gangaram 15th Battalion constable, Mullagiri Vardhan, the A2 accused in the case and RSI, Bera Keshava Rao provided fake and original police uniforms, a fake police vehicle for the gang to carry out the raids and sometimes took part in the raids, the ACP said.

The police recovered Rs 17.60 lakh in cash, two Innova vehicles, one Ertiga car, one TVS Scooty, 16 cell phones, two police uniforms, two police raincoats, one hand cuff and 80 bundles of dummy children’s currency (Rs 500 denomination).

Besides the main accused, TGSP constable and RSI, the police remanded Muvva Satyanarayana, Marumudi Madhu, Gorantla Gautam Kumar, Karlapudi Naveen, Nakka Nagaraju, Sagi Subbaraju, Kapa Srinivas, Duduguru Kuraba Ganesh and Upendram Janardhana Raju.

Ramanjaneyulu and Raju who supplied SIM cards were absconding. A case under Section 310(2) (dacoity), 318 (4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 204 (impersonation of a public servant), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) read with 109 (attempt to murder) BNS was booked against the accused.