Young criminal who used social media and cheated over 200 women under arrest

KADAPA: The Kadapa police on Sunday arrested a young criminal who cheated over 200 women after establishing contacts with them via social media and other means. Police gave his name and details as Chennupalli Prasanna Kumar alias Prashant Reddy alias Rajareddy alias Tony (23), a resident of Geetashram Street in Proddatur town.

Prasannakumar had dropped out of his first-year of engineering and turned his attention to crime. He has been roaming around the streets of Kadapa, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, and also targeting girls and middle-aged women through social media such as ShareChat, Facebook and Instagram.

He mesmerized many with his wooing skills and made them fall in love with him. He would chat with them via the net and take their nude photos and videos. He would then move on to blackmail them and extract money from them through his Google Pay and Phone Pay accounts for his “performances”.

Kadapa police sub-divisional officer Budida Sunil disclosed the details at a press conference at his office on Sunday.

The youth maintained a direct sexual relationship with some of his victims. He would take money and gold ornaments from them, sell these and spend the money on his luxuries. “Over 200 women, including girls, had been deceived this way. These women, once cheated, were afraid to lodge a police complaint,” police said.

Prasannakumar took to crime at an early age and started with chain snatchings and thefts in 2017. He went to jail in some cases registered at Proddatur II Town, Proddatur III Town and Chapadu police stations but obtained bail and continued with his crimes. There exists a suspect sheet on him at the Proddatur III Town police station.

In a case in June, Prasannakumar cheated Srinivas, a resident of Nabikota in Kadapa. He was introduced to Srinivas via the Sharechat social network. He introduced himself as Prashanth Reddy alias Rajareddy working at the Hyderabad state Secretariat. He got close with the family and promised to give an attender post to Srinivas at the Secretariat.

One day, he said his mother was hospitalized and urgently needed money for treatment. Srinivas gave him some gold ornaments of his mother. He went away and then would not attend to Srinivas’ phone calls. The victim later filed a cheating complaint with the police. Following this, police registered a case and arrested Prasannakumar.

Last month, he committed a theft at a house in Akkayapalle, Kadapa city, and stole 30 grams of gold and other ornaments.

Kadapa taluka police inspector Nagabhushanam and SIs Ramakrishna and SKM Hussain formed a team and arrested the criminal. Police recovered Rs 6,000 from his person, as also two gold bangles weighing 30 grams, a pair of gold earrings, two rings, and an ear ring, as also the mobile phone he used for the cheating.