A man who formerly played cricket for the Ranji trophy from Andhra Pradesh has been identified by the Hyderabad police as the one impersonating Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao’s personal secretary. Budumuru Nagaraju, a 25-year-old, is a habitual offender and has over 10 cases of cheating booked against him across the Telugu states.
The Hyderabad Police took the man into custody on February 22, but had not revealed details about the accused then. In a statement to the press on Saturday, Hyderabad Police told the media that the man was impersonating Bandari Tirupathi, a personal secretary to the IT Minister. The accused used to search for phone numbers of the organisations over Google and allegedly made phone calls introducing himself as Tirupathi.
Nagaraju was demanding lakhs of Rupees and cheating corporate companies, such as hospitals, realtors, and educational institutions. Police say the accused used to tell his potential targets that Minister KT Rama Rao was swearing-in as the Chief Minister of Telangana State and that fund collection was to arrange a programme at LB Nagar stadium. He demanded money in the name of erecting hoardings, and for advertisements in print and electronic media for the programme of swearing ceremony.
Police seized Rs 10 lakh and a cell phone from his possession. Of the nine cases booked against Nagaraju, he managed to swindle Rs 27,80,400 from six victims. He had demanded money from the remaining three complainants.
He was previously arrested in relation to the cases booked across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Police have booked several cases under Sections 406 for criminal breach of trust and Section 420 for cheating against the former cricketer.
An MBA graduate with cricketing aspirations, Nagaraju represented Andhra Pradesh in Ranji Trophy matches during 2014-2016. Police say that Nagaraju first of his criminal record in 2018. His motive is to earn easy money illegally and spend lavishly, say police.