Cops arrest 7 for CMRF funds misappropriation
Hyderabad: The Jubilee Hills Police apprehended 7 persons, including two women, for misappropriation of Rs 8.71 lakh from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) by posing as beneficiaries. The arrested persons are natives of Godavarikhani (Village), Pedapally (District), Karimnagar.
The accused fraudulently caused the sanctioned CMRF cheques to be deposited into their personal accounts and subsequently withdrew the funds. They cheated the Government as well as the genuine victims/beneficiaries who were entitled to relief.
Police arrested Potla Ravi (46), Janagama Nagaraju (40), Mateti Bhasker (33), Dharmaram Raju (50), Kampalli Santhosh (35), Chityala Laxmi (65) and Asampelli Laxmi.
According to police, the accused were identified as fake beneficiaries. In furtherance of a criminal conspiracy, they misappropriated the amount sanctioned under the CMRF for their wrongful gain, thereby cheating the Government and depriving genuine victims/beneficiaries.
Police registered cases under Sections 409, 417, 419, 467, and 120(B) and Section 66(C) of the Information Technology Act.
Satyanarayana, Detective. Inspector of Jubilee Hills said that the arrested individuals voluntarily admitted and confessed to their involvement in the commission of the above offences. All seven accused were formally arrested on September 18 and produced before the Court for judicial remand.
The DI said that the further investigation is in progress to identify additional persons involved in the offences. Efforts are being made to recover the misappropriated funds.
Other accused persons have been identified but are currently absconding.
Necessary steps are being taken to apprehend them. Satyanarayana said on July15, four persons Jogula Naresh Kumar (42), Balagoni Venkatesh (37), Korlapati Vamshi (24), and Pulipaka Omkar (34) were arrested and remanded to judicial custody. They had criminally conspired, and misappropriated funds sanctioned under the CMRF for their wrongful gain, thereby cheating the Government and depriving genuine victims/beneficiaries.
“Naresh misused his access to the CMRF cheques while working at the minister’s office. After the 2023 elections, Naresh unlawfully took possession of 230 sanctioned but undistributed cheques. He identified 19 cheques issued to applicants who had not followed up and deposited them into SBI accounts at Road No: 5 Jubilee Hills, SBI Branch with similar names, using forged details. The total amount misappropriated was Rs 8,71,000 by the accused,” said Satyanarayana.