Jangaon:
Police have arrested a four-member gang accused of collecting crores of rupees from the public by promising high returns on investments. The arrests were made in a joint operation by the Task Force and Palakurthi Police.
During the raid, police seized ₹5.92 lakh in cash, 684.5 grams of gold coins, 150 grams of gold ornaments, a car, mobile phones, a laptop, receipt books, a cash counting machine, cheque books, stamps, and documents related to land and house plots.
The arrested persons have been identified as:
- Teppali Saidulu (55), native of Gaddipalli, Suryapet district, residing in Palakurthi, Jangaon district.
- Manubothula Ramakrishna (36), native of Nandigama, Krishna district (AP), residing in Palakurthi.
- Podila Suresh Kumar (35), native of Penpahad, Suryapet district, residing in Palakurthi.
- Podila Sridhar (30), native of Huzurnagar, Suryapet district, residing in Palakurthi.
According to Warangal Commissioner of Police, the main accused, Teppali Saidulu, started an organization in 2023 under his wife Narayanamma’s name called Hebsiba. In 2024, without any government permissions, he launched a chit fund scheme promising high profits.
Under the scheme, members had to pay ₹6,000 for enrollment. Out of this, ₹4,000 was kept as deposit and goods worth only about ₹300 were given to members as “welcome items,” though shown as worth ₹2,000. Members could take multiple enrollments, and for each, they were promised ₹1,000 per month for 20 months.
The accused, with the help of agents in villages, managed to enroll around 28,493 memberships, collecting about ₹11.39 crore. Additionally, by distributing goods of lower value than promised, they misappropriated another ₹4.84 crore. Complaints were filed after several investors, lured by promises of high returns, invested large sums.
Police investigations revealed that the gang deposited the collected money across 17 bank accounts. Transactions worth ₹5.48 crore have been frozen to prevent further withdrawals.
The Commissioner Sunpreeth Singh further stated that the main accused already faces more than 10 cheating cases in Medak, Suryapet, Illandu, and LB Nagar police stations.
Appealing to the public, the Commissioner said people should not trust schemes that promise unusually high profits. He warned that such companies often shut down suddenly, leaving investors at a complete loss.
The Commissioner praised the efforts of West Zone DCP Rajamahendra Nayak, ACPs Narsayya and Madhusudan, Task Force Inspector Pavan, Palakurthi CI Janakirama Reddy, SIs Vamshi Krishna and Dilip, and the Task Force and Palakurthi police staff involved in the operation.
