Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police have arrested Budumuru Nagaraju, a former cricketer from Andhra Pradesh, for impersonating a senior aide to the Chief Minister of Telangana and soliciting funds from prominent business figures through fraudulent emails and messages.
Nagaraju, 32, a resident of Narsannapeta village in Srikakulam district, was found to have created the fake email ID [reventhreddyosd@gmail.com](mailto:reventhreddyosd@gmail.com), impersonating the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Telangana Chief Minister. He used this identity to contact various industrialists, including managing directors and chairpersons of high-profile companies, requesting financial assistance.
The accused, already facing 29 cybercrime cases across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, was arrested under sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act and Section 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. A non-bailable warrant from XII ACMM Court, Nampally, was also pending against him.
Victims targeted by Nagaraju include Krishna Mohan Bollineni of Bollineni Infra Projects, Aravind Sanka of Rapido, Srinivas Gupta Verrabomma of Gupta Realty, and representatives from Country Delight, among others.
Investigators revealed that Nagaraju’s modus operandi involved creating email and WhatsApp accounts mimicking top government officials, contacting business leaders through these platforms, and deceiving them into believing he was seeking urgent financial aid on behalf of the Chief Minister’s office.
Police have seized one mobile phone used in the commission of the crime. The investigation team, led by Inspector S. Mattam Raju with SIs A. Shailendra Kumar, K. Hima Reddy, and constables P. Ashok and K. Ajay Kumar, tracked the accused to Srikakulam and made the arrest.
Authorities have issued a public advisory warning citizens to remain sceptical of messages or calls from individuals claiming to be high-ranking officials, particularly if money is requested via digital platforms. Victims of such cybercrimes are urged to dial 1930 or report via [https://cybercrime.gov.in](https://cybercrime.gov.in).