Fraud gang dangles RRR, cheats 30 software techies of Rs 6 cr

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad City Crime Station (CCS) police have detained two persons in connection with a Rs 6 crore fraud where gullible investors were cheated under the false promise of higher returns on their investments for popular Tollywood films. At least 30 software professionals besides their relatives were said to have fallen prey to the latest scam that thrived instantly on the Telugu film industry.

Kongara Anjamma Chowdary and Nagam Umasankar – both belonging to Kukatpally – are the two main accused who have been taken into custody and were being questioned by the CCS police. The victims staged an impromptu sit-in in front of the CCS here demanding justice and immediate recovery of their money.

As per the accounts of the victims, Kongara Anjamma Chowdary, her daughter Hema, son Kongara Sumanth and Nagam Umasankar enticed the software techies and collected about Rs 6 crores from them. They lured the unsuspecting professionals into their trap claiming that their money would be invested in big-budget films like RRR, Ala Vaikunthapuramloo, Love Story, Nishabdam, Venky Mama, Rakshasudu, Naandi and many others.

They collected the money after promising to get them unprecedented returns on their investments. But when the victims demanded their money back later, the alleged fraudsters turned hostile and resorted to intimidatory tactics. They threatened the victims, taking the names of some ministers and MLAs and claiming to have clout with them.

Clueless, the victims turned up at the CCS and staged a sit-in seeking justice and immediate recovery of their money from the accused. They also fear that the number of people who were cheated by the accused could go up further as the days pass by.

In response, the CCS police have detained prime suspects Kongara Anjamma Chowdary and Nagam Umasankar and were questioning them to elicit more information. It was not immediately clear if a case was registered and if so, under what sections.