A person from Telangana who arrived in the city two years ago allegedly to evade arrest was caught by the Crime Branch police on Wednesday on charges of extorting money from ‘vulnerable couples’ posing as a police officer.
The police recovered valuables worth ₹17.5 lakhs, including ₹8.5 lakh in cash from his possession.
The accused has been identified as M Srujan Kumar (39) alias Charan, a native of Ganapur village of Warangal district in Telangana. According to the police, he allegedly extorted to the tune of ₹5 lakh from four persons in the city in the recent past.
“Charan has several cases including non-bailabale warrants (NBW) pending against him in Telangana. He was allegedly involved in a number of crimes including chain snatching reported from Hyderabad. In a bid to evade arrest in the neighbouring State, he moved to Vizag about two years ago,” said DCP (Crime) A.R. Damodhar.
According to police, having married twice in Telangana, Charan is living with his third wife in the city.
Modus operandi
Referring to the modus operandi, the DCP said Charan would visit public places such as beach, parks and identify his targets in ‘vulnerable couples’, especially lovers. Posing a police officer, he would threaten them to expose or arrest, and extort huge amount of money from them.
“Charan has been maintaining a lavish lifestyle. He had bought a high-end bike and a camera. He even stuck a ‘Police’ sticker on his bike and claimed that he was a special investigating officer,” said PM Palem Inspector Lakshmana Murthy.
Recently, he trapped several couples and extorted ₹5 lakh from them. Basing on a complaint, the CCS team led by ACP Y. Govinda Rao laid a trap and nabbed him.
