TRS leader, 3 others arrested for cheating

Four persons, including a woman and a TRS leader, were on Wednesday arrested for allegedly duping investors to the tune of Rs 20 crore by offering them gold at discount.

The accused are identified as Jogannagari Aruna Reddy, Chittadi Narasimha Reddy, a local TRS leader, Syed Mujmtaz Ahmed, a businessman and Babu Chari, a goldsmith, DCP (Detective Department) L K V Ranga Rao told reporters in Hyderabad.

He said the accused also offered to sale steel at the discount of 10 per cent to market price, besides gold, to lure investors. Aruna and Chittadi were on the run after collecting an estimated amount of Rs 20 crore from at least 60 persons. So far, investigation conducted in this case revealed that Aruna Reddy alone duped public to the tune of Rs 9 crore, Rao said, adding, the fraud could be bigger as several victims are yet to approach police.

He said that Aruna Reddy, along with her henchmen who are yet to be identified, also threatened victims who had approached her seeking repayment of their investment, apparently after non-realisation of the promise.

The DCP said police were also probing Aruna's suspected role in duping several persons to the tune of several crores through a fake land scheme by claiming herself to be a landlord sitting on a huge land bank. She (Aruna) paid part money to some landlords and collected their original documents and mortgaged them with third parties and collected money, Rao said. Police are investigating Aruna to ascertain identity of her accomplices, other than those arrested, and those who threatened the victims, the DCP said.