Arrest of accused individuals involved in fraud due to online betting addiction
RSD-Vemulawada news: Satpadi Sai Tarun (27), a resident of Odyaram village in Gangadhara Mandal, worked as a priest at the Venkateswara Temple in his native village and subsequently became addicted to online betting. After suffering heavy financial losses in betting, he decided to find a shortcut to earn money quickly so he could continue gambling. As part of this scheme, he targeted Chennamadhavuni Ramaraju (a retired MEO) from Venkatraopalli village, who used to visit Odyaram village daily for his morning walk. Exploiting this acquaintance, Sai Tarun cultivated a friendship with Ramaraju with the intention of siphoning off his money. One day, he visited Ramaraju’s home and convinced him that the PhonePe and Paytm applications on his mobile phone were malfunctioning, offering to set up new PIN numbers for him. He proceeded to change the PIN numbers to ones he could easily remember. Subsequently, when Ramaraju mentioned his plans to visit Tirupati for darshan, Sai Tarun took his mobile phone, promising to book the darshan tickets and train tickets for him. Without Ramaraju’s knowledge, he then used Ramaraju’s PhonePe and Paytm accounts to transfer a total of Rs.18,46,885 in installments to the bank account of Dhamera Harish, a resident of Narasakkapeta village in Illanthakunta Mandal. Subsequently, he had the money transferred to Sai Tarun’s accounts on the betting app ‘Cricbet99’ through Harish and used it to place bets. In exchange for this service, he paid Harish a commission of approximately Rs.1 lakh. However, the entire sum of money was ultimately lost in the betting. Whenever Ramaraju inquired about the tickets, Sai Tarun evaded the issue by citing various excuses. Eventually realizing that he had been defrauded, Ramaraju lodged a complaint at the Boinpally Police Station. Acting on this complaint, Boinpally SI Ramakanth registered a case. Subsequently, Vemulawada Rural CI Srinivas took charge of the investigation. During this process, it was discovered that the accused had spent some time staying at temples in Uttar Pradesh before returning to Odyaram. He then called Harish and asked him to meet at the Rajanna Hotel in Venkatraopalli village. Utilizing technical surveillance, Vemulawada Rural CI Srinivas arrested both Sai Tarun and Harish; the police seized two mobile phones and Rs.80,000 in cash from their possession before remanding them to judicial custody. The police advised the public to always remain vigilant regarding strangers. They emphasized that PIN numbers, OTPs, and personal details related to digital transaction platforms such as PhonePe and Paytm must never be shared with others under any circumstances. They further urged citizens to immediately report any suspicious incidents they observe to the nearest police station.
