Two Cyber Criminals Arrested; 7 Lakh Recovered

Vijayawada: Bapatla district SP Tushar Dudi announced the arrest of two cyber criminals operating across India and the recovery of Rs. 7,00,000 in cash, 24 ATM cards, 11 chequebooks, and Rs. 17,90,680 frozen in accounts. The arrested individuals were Ramesh from Megwaloka Bass, Jaisala, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and Shrawan Kumar from Shree Laxman Nagar, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

The arrests followed a complaint filed on December 3 by Gondhi Sri Lakshmi Varaprasad Rao (Retd. Professor) of Chundur, Bapatla district, who was targeted by cyber criminals posing as officials in a money laundering case. Rao was defrauded of Rs. 74,13,600 through five transactions. Following the complaint, the Bapatla District Technical Team coordinated with the bank to freeze Rs. 17,90,680, while the remaining amount was transferred to multiple accounts.

The police traced the accused to Rajasthan and Mumbai, where Ramesh and Shrawan Kumar were arrested. The investigation revealed that the duo was involved in 13 cyber crimes across 12 police stations in eight states: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, Gujarat, Telangana, and Rajasthan. The police have recovered Rs. 7,00,000 from the accused in connection with the Chundur case.

SP Tushar Dudi urged the public to be cautious of cyber criminals and reassured that the police are actively working to prevent such frauds. He encouraged victims to report cyber crimes by calling 1930, with the Bapatla district technical team always available to assist.