VIJAYAWADA: Two persons, one of them working as a TTE with Indian railways, were arrested by Suryaraopet police on Wednesday for allegedly cheating 57 people to the tune of Rs 8 crore.
The accused were identified as K Simhadri Nagamani, alias Mounika (46) from Tuni town in East Godavari district, and Sandrana Venkateswara Rao, who works as a travelling ticket examiner with Indian railways.
Additional DCP Babu Rao said main accused Nagamani and her partner Rao lured and cheated several persons by promising them gold at a cheaper rate. Nagamani, who got estranged from her husband in 2006, met Rao in Vijayawada and they have been living together in an apartment in Suryaraopet for the past 13 years. The couple thought of targeting gullible people to earn quick money.
“Their first target was a security guard working in Kanaka Durga temple. The woman introduced Rao as a customs officer and told the victim they belong to a zamindar family which owned a lot of gold. The duo offered to sell gold at a much cheaper rate compared to market price. The man handed over Rs 1.32 lakh, a bulk of his savings, to Nagamani and they asked him to refer others to earn a commission. A number of colleagues of Rao too fell victim to the scam,” the DCP said.
When cops checked the bank accounts of the accused, it was found that they transacted around Rs 14.2 crore across six bank accounts since 2014. Rao also lost Rs 1.32 crore to gambling on an online rummy platform. Cops suspect they earned over Rs 8 crore from the gold scam alone. Nagamani was found to be a habitual offender and had earlier cheated people in East Godavari in a chit fund scam. A total of seven cases was found to have been registered against them in the past. A fresh case has been registered at Suryaraopet police station.
The couple targeted gullible people to earn quick money. They lured their victims by promising them gold at a cheaper rate. Seven cases were registered against the duo in the past
