Visakhapatnam: After the recent multi-crore land scam in the port city of Visakhapatnam, another land mafia came to light on Tuesday when the police arrested three persons for duping a realtor.

According to the police, Dr. Cherukuri Suryanarayana Raju, a native of Seethammadhara in the city along with a tax consultant Mandapati Ramanaprakash Raju and Maadem Satyanarayana have allegedly duped one Murali Krishna by taking an advance amount of Rs 75 lakh to sell 15 acres in Bhimili mandal in the district.

The accused claimed ownership of the 15-acre swathe by showing land documents to Murali Krishna. Believing them, the victim proceeded to pay the advance amount Rs 75 lakh two years ago.

However, Suryanarayana Raju stopped responding to Murali Krishna. Growing suspicious, the victim directly went to the village in Bhimili mandal and made enquiries about the land.

He was shocked to know that the villagers had no idea of any realtor with the name of Cherukuri Suryanarayana Raju and no one in the village had sold their land to the said person.

Knowing that he was cheated, the victim approached the police and lodged a complaint in June last year. However, the police did not take the issue seriously.

However, after Sakshi media house aired a series of news reports and carried sting operations about the land scam in the city, the Visakha police became alert and started digging into pending real estate-related cases. Reliable sources claim that Raju has the backing of several political leaders from the TDP.