Hyderabad: The Special Operations Team of Rachakonda nabbed a seven-member interstate cheating gang in Choutuppal. The gang pretending to be bird hunters were camping on the village's outskirts and used to defraud villagers promising to sell gold cheaply. The police also seized cash and weapons from them.
The arrested persons are P. Veeranna, P. Vikram, P. Anand, P. Kishore, B. Indraraju, O. Kittaiah and A. Shantakumar, while three others Ravikumar, Mahimaraju and Sreekrishna are absconding.
Police said the suspects belonged to Kadapa district. Claiming to be bird hunters and selling artificial flowers they move around villages, set up tents on the outskirts and befriend villagers. After gaining their confidence they say they have gold and as they need money urgently they are selling it at a less price.
When villagers show interest in buying the gold the gang would show them original gold and after finalising the deal they collect huge amounts from buyers and give them spurious gold.
“After that they shift to another village. They also carry knives to threaten victims if they resist while paying money,” Yadadri DCP P. Yadagiri said.
He said the gang had committed three offences in Nalgonda and Yadadri districts in the last three months and to escape the police they introduce themselves by fictitious names to villagers.
In June they approached one M. Naresh and requested him place on his farmland to build a temporary shelter. After a few days they told him they found a pot of gold in Karnataka and will sell it for Rs 7 lakh. They initially gave him eight gold pieces which were original and after believing them he gave Rs 7 lakh and collected 3 kg gold, but found that it was fake. Police arrested the suspects and recovered the Rs 7 lakh.
