In a crucial development, Jubilee Hills Police have successfully apprehended two more individuals linked to the large-scale misappropriation of ₹8.71 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF). These recent arrests bring the total number of suspects taken into custody in this evolving case to thirteen. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies are actively working to track down several other identified culprits who remain at large, and their primary focus remains on recovering all the unlawfully diverted funds.
The newly arrested individuals, identified as Pagadala Srinivasa Rao (23) and Yasa Venkateshwarulu (50), were found to have acted as ‘fake beneficiaries.’ They cunningly deposited cheques sanctioned from the CMRF into their personal bank accounts before withdrawing the money. This fraudulent act not only cheated the government but also cruelly denied legitimate aid to those who truly needed it.
Detective Inspector M. Satyanarayana and his dedicated team conducted the arrests on September 21st. Both Pagadala Srinivasa Rao and Yasa Venkateshwarulu openly admitted their roles in the elaborate criminal conspiracy during their interrogation. Following their confession, they were presented before the court and subsequently remanded to judicial custody. It was confirmed that both men hail from Tanikella in Konijerala, Khammam district.
This ongoing investigation has seen previous arrests on July 15th and September 19th, involving other individuals who similarly exploited CMRF cheques as part of this scheme. Further inquiries have uncovered that the main orchestrator of the fraud obtained a staggering 230 undistributed cheques after the 2023 elections. Of these, 19 cheques were illicitly deposited into accounts with similar names at SBI Jubilee Hills, using forged details. The entire amount of ₹8,71,000, which was intended for public welfare, was then illicitly shared among the conspirators.