Two arrested for cyberfraud

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) arrested two persons for allegedly using the photograph of Human Resources Department Minister Nara Lokesh and committing cyberfraud. The accused used Mr. Lokesh’s photograph as their WhatsApp display picture and posed as Surendra, TDP NRI Convenor, to cheat the public under the guise of providing medical assistance.

The main accused, Konduri Rajesh of Vijayawada, was arrested in January this year near the India-Nepal Border in West Bengal and subsequently, the other two accused were arrested on Wednesday.

The CID arrested Guttikonda Sai Srinath of Hyderabad and Chithhadi Thala Sumanth of Patancheruvu in Telangana.

According to the CID, the three accused collected information from individuals seeking medical or financial aid by searching hashtags like #help_@naralokesh, #help_@pawankalyan, and #help_@ncbn on X. Using U.S. based phone numbers, they contacted victims via WhatsApp, posing as Surendra, TDP NRI Convener, and obtained bank account and medical bill details from victims under the pretext of offering financial help.

“The accused sent fake U.S. bank transfer receipts showing credit of ₹10 lakh to victims’ accounts. Later, they impersonated bank officials from Indian numbers, claiming that funds were held up and demanding 4 percent remittance charges to release the amount,” the CID said.

After collecting money, they issued additional fake receipts citing “income tax clearance issues” and eventually stopped all communication. They provided bank accounts to Rajesh for receiving and transferring illegally obtained funds, the CID said.

Sai Srinath and Sumanth are habitual offenders involved in nine cyberfraud cases in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.