Hyderabad: Afzalgunj police arrested the leader of an interstate con gang involved in a fake gold scam and recovered ₹40 lakh in cash and a car used in the crime. The accused was identified as Jaya Kumar, 50, from Manvi in Karnataka’s Raichur district.
According to police, the gang duped a Hyderabad-based real estate businessman by posing as gold sellers and convincing him to pay ₹65 lakh for what they claimed was real gold at half price. Two other gang members — Uday Reddy, 35, and Sandeep alias Raghu, 24 — are absconding.
The complainant, Munukuntia Niranjan of Choutuppal, told police he was first contacted by a person claiming to be “Reddy” who offered to sell gold at reduced rates. After several phone conversations, Niranjan and his associate Dharmender met the suspects at various locations, eventually bringing ₹65 lakh in cash to Dilsukhnagar on 12 May.
The suspects then directed the victims to Putlibowli near Afzalgunj, where the alleged handover took place. Niranjan was given a bag that turned out to contain sarees stuffed with stones. The accused fled the scene on unregistered motorcycles and switched off their phones immediately after.
A case was registered under Crime No. 177/2025 at Afzalgunj police station under Sections 318(4) and 303(2) of the BNS. With no initial leads, a special team was formed, which used CCTV footage and technical surveillance to track the accused.
Jaya Kumar was arrested near CBS on 22 June, and ₹40 lakh of the defrauded amount was recovered along with a Hyundai Creta used in the offence. Police said efforts are ongoing to nab the other two gang members.
The operation was carried out under the supervision of DCP East Zone Dr. B. Bala Swamy, ADCP J. Narsaiah, ACP M. Mattiah, and the Afzalgunj police team led by SHO N. Ravi and DI B. Ravi Kiran.
