A 24-year-old conman, Boya Pavan Kalyan, from Kothacheruvu town in Sri Sathya Sai district, was arrested by Tirumala police for duping devotees through fake email IDs resembling those of the official administration of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
The accused created a fake email ID that closely mimicked the official email addresses of TTD’s EO, additional EO, and JEOs, and also designed a fraudulent Truecaller ID as “Tirumala JEO office.” He used search engine optimisation techniques to ensure his fake email appeared prominently on Google when devotees searched for TTD contacts.
Pavan then began receiving requests from devotees seeking VIP darshan tickets. Pretending to be a TTD official, he contacted them and convinced them to transfer money via UPI for processing their VIP darshan requests. After receiving the payments, he would switch off his mobile or block the devotees, disappearing with their money.
The police have now caught the fraudster, ending his scam that targeted innocent devotees seeking darshan tickets.
