Hyderabad police have arrested a 32-year-old man from Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, for tricking people through social media fraud. The man, Budumuru Nagaraju, a former Andhra cricket player, pretended to be the Personal Secretary and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Telangana Chief Minister.
Nagaraju used a fake email account to contact business leaders. He introduced himself as a top government official to gain their trust and ask for money. He contacted several business owners using email, WhatsApp, and phone calls.
Police say he is involved in 13 cases in Telangana and 16 in Andhra Pradesh. There’s also a non-bailable warrant against him from the XII ACMM Court in Nampally.
The scam came to light after the real OSD to the Telangana CM filed a complaint. The fake messages were traced to a phone number, 9666349191, and an email address, reventhreddyosd@gmail.com.
Nagaraju tried to scam several high-profile individuals, including:
– Krishna Mohan Bollineni, MD of Bollineni Infra Projects
– Aravind Sanka, MD of Rapido
– Srinivas Gupta Verrabomma, Chairman of Gupta Realty
– Sri Chakradhar and Nitin Koushal, MDs of Country Delight
He posed as a government official to request financial help from these well-known business figures.
According to the Cyber Crime DCP, Nagaraju made multiple fake accounts using the names of high-ranking officials. He then targeted wealthy people and business owners to ask for money under false pretenses.
Authorities urge anyone who faces online fraud or cybercrime to call 1930 or report the incident at https://cybercrime.gov.in immediately.
