Dream Girl Redux: Men Use Female Voice to Cheat Other Men

The Adilabad police have busted a Suryapet-based gang that seems to have drawn inspiration from the 2019 Hindi movie Dream Girl to get men to mimic a woman’s voice to chat with other men. The only difference being that the Suryapet gang cheated men and took money by posing as women through a fake marriage bureau.

The activities of the Suryapet gang came to light after an Adilabad-based victim lodged a complaint on November 25, prompting a detailed investigation. The police arrested three unemployed youths from Suryapet district — Maloth Manji alias Krishnaveni (21), Bhukya Ganesh (19), and Rupawath Shravan Kumar (18) — along with a minor boy from Ramachandrapuram Thanda in Matampalli mandal. They were found in possession of ₹1.5 lakh in cash and three mobile phones. Investigations revealed that the gang was also involved in similar cheating cases across several districts in Telangana.

According to Adilabad DSP L. Jeevan Reddy, the gang cheated M. Laxmikanth, a resident of Adilabad town, of ₹8 lakh. Laxmikanth had come across a woman named Krishnaveni with her photograph on YouTube while searching for a marriage match. Later, he was contacted by Rupawath Shravan Kumar, who introduced Maloth Manji as Krishnaveni.

Manji reportedly began conversing with the victim in a woman’s tone, posing as Krishnaveni, and convinced him that she belonged to a wealthy family, was managing businesses worth crores, but was entangled in property-related court cases. She claimed that whoever married her would inherit her entire property and persuaded Laxmikanth to transfer ₹8 lakh in instalments as legal fees to settle the disputes. The victim, believing her story, complied with the request — only to later discover that Krishnaveni was in fact a man. He subsequently filed a complaint with the Cyber Police via helpline number 1930.

Further investigation revealed that the gang had also cheated Santhosh of Nizampet in Medak district of ₹48,000, Ramulu of Lingapet in Kamareddy district of ₹1.8 lakh, and another victim in Bengaluru, Karnataka, using similar tactics.

DSP Reddy added that the gang also duped gullible people by promising to cure health problems through witchcraft. They reportedly used toys, animal bones, and other tools purchased from online shopping platforms to perform fake rituals via video calls.