Police Arrest Aarogyasri Refund Scamster
Deputy superintendent of police K. Chandrasekhar Reddy told the media that the accused, 32-year-old M. Saleem Malik of Bhagyanagar Colony.
Karimnagar: The Cybercrime Police arrested a man on Wednesday in Rajanna Sircilla district for allegedly running a widespread online health-department refund scam that cheated victims of approximately ₹60 lakh across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Deputy superintendent of police K. Chandrasekhar Reddy told the media that the accused, 32-year-old M. Saleem Malik of Bhagyanagar Colony, Jammalamadugu (Kadapa district), and an accomplice, identified as Satish from Delhi, contacted victims by phone posing as health department officials. They promised refunds for hospital expenses under the Aarogyasri Scheme, then sent victims a fraudulent link and instructed them to enter their UPI PINs to “receive” the refund. Instead, the scammers debited money directly from the victims’ bank accounts.
After receiving a complaint from Rajireddy of Mustabad mandal, who lost ₹46,000 and ₹10,000 in two separate transactions, the police registered a case, launched an investigation, and arrested Malik using advanced technical methods. A manhunt is underway for the second suspect, Satish, who remains at large.