Hyderabad: Two men were booked by Gachibowli police for threatening a builder in Alkapuri Township by falsely invoking the name of the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA).
The accused, identified as Miriyala Vedantham and Yelisetti Shoban Babu, allegedly approached an under-construction apartment site and warned that it would be demolished, claiming the structure was illegal. According to police, Vedantham works as a driver, and Shoban Babu is a retired RTC employee.
Following a complaint from the affected builder, both men were taken into custody.
Officials clarified that HYDRAA has received multiple reports of such impersonations. The department urged the public to report any misuse of its name or extortion attempts to 8712406899, either via direct call or WhatsApp.
Over recent months, HYDRAA has been carrying out demolitions of illegal structures in Hyderabad. This has led to a spate of impersonation cases, with individuals targeting builders on the pretext of reporting to HYDRAA. Builders constructing properties outside buffer or FTL zones are being threatened with complaints and coerced into paying bribes. In some cases, the accused showed photos of officials to convince victims.
HYDRAA Commissioner A.V. Ranganath warned that anyone using the department’s name for extortion will face jail. He said several individuals posing as activists have been extorting money from developers, falsely claiming connections with senior HYDRAA officials.