Techie held in Hyderabad for cheating in the name of gold investment

Hyderabad, April 21: The Cyberabad police arrested a techie for defrauding people in the name of investment into gold to the tune of Rs 6.12 crore.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) police station of Cyberabad busted the racket and arrested Ganta Sreedhar, a software employee hailing from Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati district and residing in Hyderabad.

The police booked the 40-year-old under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 406 and 420 IPC and Section 5 of the Telangana Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act - 1999.

According to police, the accused lured the victims with the offer of good returns on investment in gold. K. Prasad, Deputy Commissioner of Police, EOW, Cyberabad, said the accused cheated 13 victims including colleagues at his office to the tune of Rs 6.12 crore.

Acting on a complaint by one of the victims, police busted the racket.

On February 22, 2024, the accused sent a message to the complainant about the gold investment scheme.

The victim was told that he can buy gold at Rs 5,950 per gram for 100 to 200 grams and Rs 5,850 per gram for 300 to 500 grams by making payment to the shop account.

If the amount is paid in cash the price will be Rs 5,850 per gram for 100 to 200 grams and Rs 5,750 per gram for 300 to 500 grams.

The techie promised delivery of gold in about 25 days. When Prasad did not deliver the gold even after receiving payments, one of the victims approached the police.

The police investigations revealed that the accused attracted his colleagues at OSI Digital, a software company where he was employed.

Most of them started believing and wanted to invest in gold for better returns.

The complainant got introduced to the accused in a family gathering. Since then, the accused person had been in regular contact with them by gaining their trust. The police officer said the accused had been working in the company for over 12 years.