The police booked Chennupalli Prasanna Kumar (23) alias Prashanth Reddy, a habitual offender from Proddutur, under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act on charges of harassing and cheating a number of women in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana by misusing social media platforms.
According to Kadapa Superintendent of Police K.K.N. Anburajan, the accused, a B. Tech dropout, resorted to crimes to make quick money. “Prasanna Kumar has been allegedly snatching chains and committing burglaries since 2017. The Proddutur III-Town police have opened a suspect- sheet against him. He would go to Kadapa, Vijayawada and Hyderabad, and use social media platforms to befriend women. After winning their confidence, he would pursue them to send their intimate photographs and later blackmail them,” the SP said.
The accused allegedly forced the victims to send him money. He allegedly sexually exploited some victims, besides taking away their gold jewellery. The accused allegedly duped some others by promising jobs, besides his alleged involvement in several housebreakings reported from across the district.
According to the police, the accused was allegedly involved in 26 cases in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. However, many victims did not approach the police either out of fear of Prasanna Kumar or losing their reputation.
Prasanna Kumar was also wanted in many chain-snatching and cricket betting cases. He has been remanded and shifted to the Central Prison at Kadapa.
