In a major breakthrough, the Bapatla district police have successfully cracked a cyber fraud case involving a whopping Rs74 lakh. The police arrested two individuals from Rajasthan—identified as Ramesh and Sravan Kumar—and recovered Rs7 lakh in cash, 24 ATM cards, 11 cheque books, and 4 mobile phones from them. The authorities are also on the lookout for two other suspects, Akash Kulhari and Siva Prasad, who are believed to be involved in the scam.
The case began on December 3, when a retired professor from Vetapalem village in Tsunduru mandal filed a complaint with the Tsunduru police. The victim explained that he had been deceived by fraudsters who posed as CBI officers. The fraudsters threatened him with a money laundering case and claimed that he had been digitally arrested. They extorted a total of Rs74 lakh from him in five separate transactions, advising him to pay the money to clear his name.
Under the leadership of District SP Tushar Dudi, police teams traced the money trail to five bank accounts, revealing a larger web of cyber fraud. Further investigation via the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) portal uncovered that these accounts were linked to cyber fraud cases across 43 police stations in 39 districts spanning 18 states, with a total fraud amount of approximately Rs10 crore.
The police arrested Ramesh and Sravan Kumar in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, recovering Rs7 lakh from them. They also froze Rs17,90,680 in various bank accounts linked to the two suspects. These individuals have been linked to 13 fraud cases across 12 police stations in eight states, collectively defrauding victims of approximately Rs50 lakh. The investigation continues as the police are working to apprehend the remaining suspects.
SP Tushar Dudi cautioned the public against falling prey to scams involving “digital arrests” and emphasized that such arrests are not real. He urged people to report cybercrimes immediately by calling 1930, assuring that the Bapatla District Police Technical Team is always available to assist victims of cyber fraud.
