Rachakonda: On 08.06.2024, at 14:30 hrs, a complaint was filed by Dileep Barfa, son of Mange Lal Barfa, aged 38, from Boduppal. He reported that his friend, Singireddy Suresh from Boduppal, informed him about gold being available at a price lower than the market rate. Acting on this tip, on 19.05.2024, they both traveled to TC Palya, Bangalore, where they met the accused, Karreddula Vijay Kumar, alias Krishna Mohan Choudary, and Harish. The accused took Rs. 6 lakhs from the complainant and provided him with 81 grams of gold. Four days later, Harish came to Boduppal, Hyderabad, and gave him an additional 20 grams of gold. Trusting them after this initial transaction, the complainant ordered 2 kg of gold, paying Rs. 20 lakhs in cash to Karreddula Vijay Kumar through his associate Harish.
On 29.05.2024, the complainant and his friend Singireddy Suresh went to TC Palya, Bangalore, where they witnessed Karreddula Vijay Kumar selling 5 kg of gold to other customers. Subsequently, the complainant paid the remaining Rs. 90 lakhs for the 2 kg of gold. However, Karreddula Vijay Kumar claimed he was out of stock and took them to Chennai to meet their manager, accused Namboori Devid Livingstone, alias Senthil, at the Lee Royal Meridian Hotel on 30.05.2024. Namboori Devid Livingstone directed them to collect the gold at Road No. 35, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. Following his advice, they returned to Hyderabad. Since then, Karreddula Vijay Kumar kept postponing and ignoring their calls, prompting the complainant to seek necessary action. The case was filed at Medipally Police Station.
MODUS OPERANDI: The accused approached gold business owners, offering gold biscuits at prices lower than the market rate. Believing their claims, the victims brought money to purchase the gold. The accused provided original gold biscuits at a lesser price, claiming they were purchased from the customs department. When additional gold was requested, the accused staged buying and selling of fake gold biscuits with fake currency in the victims’ presence. When the victims pressed for the gold biscuits, the accused claimed the gold was temporarily unavailable and would be provided in a few days. In case of disputes, a fake police officer would intervene, causing both the victims and accused to flee. Later, the accused threatened the victims and refused to return the money.
The accused have previous cases booked against them in Kavali II Town Police Station. Under the leadership of Dr. Tarun Joshi, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Rachakonda, and P.V. Padmaja, IPS, Dy. Commissioner of Police, Malkajgiri Zone, Rachakonda, with supervision by S. Chakrapani, ACP, Malkajgiri Division, and Govind Reddy, SHO Medipally, the investigating officer A. Narsinga Rao, SIP, and his team from Medipally PS worked hard and relentlessly to arrest the accused.
ARREST: During the investigation, based on reliable information, the investigating officer (I.O) and his team apprehended the accused persons (A1 to A4) at ORR, Keesara, and brought them to the police station along with the seized property. The police seized 3 cars: a Verna (AP40N1963), a Baleno (AP39RU7526), and an MG Hector (AP40AW4906); a police constable uniform; dummy cash amounting to Rs. 6,86,00,000; 5 kgs of gold-coated biscuits (50 pieces, each weighing 10 tolas); and original cash amounting to Rs. 51 lakhs.
Our Citizen Reporter – Telangana
Mr. Bharath Reddy
