In a significant breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested V Chalapathi Rao, a man who had been on the run for two decades after embezzling Rs 50 lakh from State Bank of India (SBI). Chalapathi Rao, who once worked as a computer operator at SBI’s Chandulal Baradari branch in Hyderabad, had used fabricated documents to deceive the bank and misappropriate the funds.
The fraud dates back to 2002, when Chalapathi Rao devised a scheme to manipulate the bank’s systems. He submitted fake quotations for electronic goods and fabricated salary certificates in the names of his close associates and family members, which helped him embezzle the amount. The fraud came to light when the CBI registered a case, and the accused went missing shortly after.
Rao’s wife, who was also implicated in the scam, misled the authorities by filing a missing person report in 2004. She further misdirected the investigation by petitioning the court to declare her husband dead after seven years, an action that the civil court mistakenly supported. Despite these tactics, the CBI continued its investigation relentlessly.
Chalapathi Rao’s efforts to evade justice included frequently changing his name and locations. Initially fleeing to Salem, Tamil Nadu, where he remarried under the name M. Vineet Kumar, he managed to obtain a new Aadhaar card. Over the years, he moved from Bhopal to Uttarakhand, and later to Maharashtra, where he adopted a new identity as Swamy Vidhitatmanand Teertha.
He even allegedly defrauded an Ashram in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, out of Rs 70 lakh before moving to Rajasthan and then to Tamil Nadu, where he was eventually located. The authorities found that he had planned to escape to Sri Lanka, but he was finally tracked down in the village of Narsinganallur, Tamil Nadu.
After 20 years of evading the law, Chalapathi Rao was arrested by the CBI in a village near Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, on Sunday. His arrest marks the culmination of a lengthy investigation and the persistence of law enforcement in tracking down fugitives, no matter how much time passes.
