HYDERABAD: Fraudsters arrested for impersonating Harish Rao

HYDERABAD: The North Zone team of the Commissioner’s Task Force, along with Punjagutta police, apprehended two individuals on Wednesday for their involvement in cheating businessmen and builders by impersonating State Finance and Health Minister T Harish Rao. The accused had set up a fraudulent organisation called ‘Harish Anna Seva Samithi’ and deceived prominent builders and industrialists.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Perala Venkatesh (26) and Gaddameedi Rajesh Kumar (42). They operated the ‘Harish Anna Seva Samithi’ and misled people by claiming association with the BRS leader. The prime accused, Venkateswara Rao (26), managed to escape and is currently being pursued by the police.

During the arrest, the police seized a receipt book titled ‘Harish Anna Seva Samithi’ containing 69 duplicate receipts. They also found 37 filled receipts and four cell phones in possession of the accused.

According to the Punjagutta Police, the trio established the fraudulent ‘Harish Anna Seva Samithi’ and falsely presented Gundala Mallesh Goud, a BRS leader, as its president. Venkateswara Rao assumed the role of vice president, while Rajesh Kumar posed as the general secretary, using a fake registration bearing the number 1963/2016.

The initial pages of the forged receipt book falsely claim that the Minister himself was the first donor, followed by prominent BRS ministers and leaders. The accused individuals planned to approach well-known builders and industrialists with the aim of collecting substantial amounts of money through fraudulent means.

Acting on credible information, both suspects were apprehended on Tuesday by the Task Force North Zone in collaboration with the Punjagutta Police.