Hyderabad police arrest two more in CMRF scam; 13 held so far

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 22 (ANI): The Jubilee Hills Police have arrested two more accused in connection with the misappropriation of Rs 8.71 lakh Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF), taking the total number of arrests in the case to 13, officials said.
The accused have been identified as Pagadala Srinivasa Rao (23) and Yasa Venkateshwarulu (50), both natives of Khammam district. In a statement, the police confirmed that the duo posed as fake beneficiaries and fraudulently deposited sanctioned CMRF cheques into their personal accounts before withdrawing the money.
According to police, the scam involved the misappropriation of Rs 8.71 lakh through a criminal conspiracy. The cheques, meant for genuine victims, were diverted using forged documents and fake accounts.
The cases have been registered under sections 409, 417, 419, 467, 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66(C) of the Information Technology Act. The two accused were produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to their involvement, police said. Both were produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody. The two are natives of Tanikella village in Konijerala mandal of Khammam district.
According to the police, the scam originated after the accused number one in the case misused his access to 230 sanctioned but undistributed CMRF cheques that had been unlawfully taken from the minister's office following the 2023 elections. Using forged documents and accounts created in similar names, the accused allegedly deposited 19 cheques into accounts at a State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Jubilee Hills, misappropriating Rs 8.71 lakh.
Earlier, police had arrested four persons in July and seven more in September in connection with the case. Several accused are still absconding, and efforts are on to recover the misappropriated funds, officials added.
On July 15, police arrested Jogula Naresh Kumar (42), Balagoni Venkatesh (37), Korlapati Vamshi (24), and Pulipaka Omkar (34), who were remanded to custody.
On September 19, seven more were arrested, including Potla Ravi (46), Janagama Nagaraju (40), Mateti Bhasker (33), Dharmaram Raju (50), Kampalli Santhosh (35), Chityala Laxmi (65), and Asampelli Laxmi.
The further investigation is being carried out by the Jubilee Hills Police under the supervision of senior officers of Hyderabad City Police. (ANI)