Hyderabad: 3 of evasive Koracha gang held

Hyderabad: A long-absconding accused belonging to the notorious Koracha gang, which has been active in the state for the past few years and has been conning people in the city, was apprehended by the Balapur police on Sunday. The gang has shifted base to Karnataka but continues to operate in Telangana.

Shanmukha Ballary, 25, an agricultural labourer from Bellary in Karnataka was arrested for being a member of the gang. “Three other members of the gang, identified as Nagaraju, Bharathesh and Anil, all from Bellary, and are still absconding. Police recovered Rs 6 lakh in cash, three gold coins and three kg fake gold coins from Shanmukha,” said DCP LB Nagar Zone, K. Nagaraju.

The modus operandi of the gang has varied over the years, said an investigating officer from Rachakonda Police Commissionerate. 

“Earlier, claiming that they had found some treasure, the gangsters used to present fake gold bricks and coins to people, giving them the chance to buy them at half the market price. They also gave them a sample to check and confirm whether it's actually gold. They would take a portion of an actual gold brick but divert the person’s attention and hand over a fake one during delivery. Now, they claim to be farmers or a person from a low income background, who ‘stumbled upon’ a pot of gold coins stashed in their land in Bellary area of Karnataka and approach rich people, claiming that they need to sell the said ‘gold’ for a cheaper rate as they need the money either for surgery or for a wedding and again show real gold for a sample and hand over the fake gold metal during the transaction,” said the official.

The Hyderabad city police had earlier alleged that they had nabbed the kingpin and organiser of the gang, Santa Kumar, from Davangere district in Karnataka. 

“Following a complaint from a man from the city, who stated that he was given brass metal as gold for '8 lakh, a case was booked and during the course of investigation, it was found that the gang is operated by one Santa Kumar, who introduces himself as Ramesh and had cheated many people with the same modus operandi. Cases were registered against his gang in Langer Houz, SR Nagar and Malakpet police stations of Hyderabad and also in Andhra Pradesh and other states,” said DCP, CCS, Avinash Mohanty.

Hyderabad is not the only place they operate in. They have been duping people in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab for around five years now, concluded the official.