Cyberabad EOW police arrest three in pre-launch offer cheating case in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) police of Cyberabad arrested three individuals on Saturday for their involvement in a cheating case related to a pre-launch offer of residential apartments at 'Bharathi Lake View' in Kompally, Medchal-Malkajgiri district.

A case was registered under Crime No. 10/2024 U/s 406,420 IPC and Section 5 of the Telangana Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act- 1999 of PS EOW, Cyberabad, based on a complaint received from a victim, B.V.S Prasada Rao.

The accused were identified as Dupati Nagaraju, Chairman of M/s Bharathi Builders, a Partnership firm in Madhapur, Hyderabad; Mulpury Shivarama Krishna, Managing Director of M/s Bharathi Builders; and Thoddakula Narsimha Rao alias Ponnari, CEO of M/s Bharathi Builders.

Dupati Nagaraju and Mulpury Shivarama Krishna established M/s 'Bharathi Builders' in 2021, with an office in Madhapur, Hyderabad. They acquired 6.23 acres of land in Kompally and planned to construct residential apartments named 'Bharathi Lake View'.

Later, they devised a scheme to collect substantial deposits from prospective buyers through a pre-launch offer, advertising the flats at Rs. 3,200 per square foot. They published colorful brochures and held meetings at Kompally and the Madhapur office to attract deposits.

To facilitate this scheme, Dupati Nagaraju and Mulpury Shivarama Krishna appointed Thoddakula Narsimha Rao as CEO of Bharathi Builders, offering significant commissions on flat sales to attract more buyers.

The complainant, B.V.S Prasada Rao, and approximately 350 others were lured by the promises made by the accused and collectively deposited around Rs. 50-60 crores under the pre-launch offer scheme.

After collecting these deposits, the accused failed to construct any buildings or deliver the promised flats. Instead, they sold the entire 6.23-acre land, valued at about Rs. 100 crores, to another party, thereby cheating the complainant and others.

Appeal to the public

The Cyberabad EOW police urged the public not to invest or deposit money in such pre-launch offers and to report any suspicious investment schemes or real estate transactions to the authorities. The department is committed to prosecuting perpetrators and ensuring justice for victims.

The case is under investigation by the Inspector of Police, J. Venkateswarlu, Economic Offences Wing Police Station, Cyberabad, under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police, K. Prasad, EOW, Cyberabad.