Phone Tapping Accused Shravan Arrested for Financial Fraud
Shravan Kumar’s wife A. Swathy Rao, business associate K.B. Vedamurthy, and Acore Industries director Uma Maheshwar Reddy have been reportedly named as co-accused
Hyderabad: The Central Crime Station (CCS) police on Tuesday arrested A. Shravan Kumar Rao of iNews, key accused in the unauthorised phone-tapping case, in a financial fraud case. The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court at Nampally later remanded Shravan Kumar to 14 days judicial custody.
Police were acting on a complaint by A. Akarsh Krishna, director of Hyderabad-based Akhand Infratech India Private Ltd, who alleged that Shravan Kumar and his associates had defrauded his company of over Rs.6.58 crore under the pretence of Acore Industries Private Limited located at Sandur, Ballari, Karnataka.
Shravan Kumar, director of Acore Industries, promised 300 per cent profits to Akarsh Krishna in the iron ore business. He allegedly orchestrated a sophisticated fraud involving false representations and unauthorised transactions, police said.
Based on Krishna's complaint, the CCS registered a case on April 25 of criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against Shravan Rao, who is A-6 in phone-tapping case.
Following a notice served by CCS economic offences wing police, Shravan Kumar appeared before the investigating officer on Tuesday. After the questioning, the police arrested him and produced him before the magistrate.
Shravan Kumar’s wife A. Swathy Rao, business associate K.B. Vedamurthy, and Acore Industries director Uma Maheshwar Reddy have been reportedly named as co-accused.
According to the complainant, the alleged fraud began in June 2022 when Shravan Kumar, as a director of Inrhythm Energy, approached Akhand Infratech, and claimed that he had taken over Acore Industries. He reportedly proposed a deal in which Akhand Infratech would make payments to Acore Industries for iron ore, with a promised profit of Rs.300 per tonne.
Between November 2022 and December 2023, Akhand Infratech transferred several payments totalling Rs.6.58 crore to Acore Industries' bank account. The complainant stated that no direct invoices were received from Acore Industries.
The alleged fraud came to light in December 2023 when the expected iron ore deliveries, valued at Rs.7.08 crore, failed to materialise.
The complainant claimed that Shravan Kumar fled the country after his failed attempts to resolve the issue. Despite follow-ups with Shravan Kumar's wife, and Vedamurthy, the company only recovered Rs.50 lakh in September 2024.
Akarsh Krishna also submitted WhatsApp chats and email correspondence as supporting evidence. He alleged the fraud was part of a coordinated scheme to mislead his company and misappropriate funds under the guise of legitimate business. CCS booked an FIR numbered 54 of 2025.