In Hyderabad, the Market police arrested 18 people connected to a robbery. They recovered Rs 43 lakh in cash and 59 grams of gold from the suspects.
The arrested individuals are Chandra Shekar Verma, Nagaraju Kumar Verma, Bodduju Praveen Chary, Meesala Keshavulu, Bollepally Vijaya Sekhar Raju, Rehni Vinod Kumar alias Vinay, Bhukya Rambabu Naik, Sunkaripally Bhanu Prakash, Shaik Nabi Shahrukh Khan, Kella Uma Mahesh, Mantri Venkatesh, Radheshyam Mundada, N Tirumalesh, Tanga Dinesh Sai, Roshan Sunil, Geedi Aravind, Yerolla Rajesh, and Chepuri Surender. Others, including Suresh, Teja, Srikanth, Sai Baba, Auto Baba Babloo, Ashok, Pasha, Bhaskar, Mahesh, and Farooq, are on the run.
The incident began with a complaint from Sri Hariram of Bowenpally. He reported that Radheshyam offered him a deal to buy 1 kg of gold at a 5% market rate discount, requiring cash payment.
Initially, Hariram met five strangers. Later, Radheshyam and Rambabu visited his office to confirm the cash availability and informed their associates.
Soon after, four unknown men claiming to be from the Special Operations Team (SOT) of Rachakonda Commissionerate entered, with one identifying as Keshavulu showing an ID. They attacked Hariram, took cash and phones, and escaped in a car and two bikes.
Rashmi Perumal, Deputy Commissioner of Police, North Zone, explained that Shekar and Nagaraju, who are brothers, plotted to impersonate gold traders to rob people during fake transactions.
Nagaraju contacted Suresh, who claimed Pot Market connections. After Suresh’s confirmation, a meeting at the Blue Sea Hotel on June 18 with 15 members finalized the plan. Later, they convinced the complainant about the gold deal’s legitimacy.
Rambabu and Hariram went to his office to verify the cash, sharing location details with the robbers. Following the plan, Keshavulu, with Vijaya, Vinod, and Teja, posed as officers, seized the cash and phones, and fled. Keshavulu then gave the cash to Rambabu, who left on a bike with Bhanu.
During their escape, a Vehicle Recovery Team recognized Bhanu’s bike as defaulted on EMI. They stopped them at Trimulgherry, found the cash, and took it, threatening false police action.
After learning about this, Shekar confronted Bhanu and others. Mantri Venkatesh then called local associates to detain and assault Bhanu and his group at Ghatkesar.
“Investigating over 100 CCTV cameras and witness statements revealed two criminal groups: the original robbers and a secondary team, a vehicle seizure group, who robbed the initial gang,” said Rashmi Perumal.
