Balanagar ACP P. Naresh Reddy and other police officials from Jeedimetla at a press conference in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
The Jeedimetla police arrested a person for allegedly duping 84 people by promising them double bedroom houses.
The accused, Bodimi Shetty Haribabu, is an assistant at the Quthbullapur MLA Camp Office. He was taken into custody following a complaint by Thailam Ramesh, president of Giri Nagar society at Jeedimetla, on July 14.
The complainant alleged that Haribabu had collected ₹1 lakh from him with an assurance of securing a government-allocated 2-BHK house. However, neither the house was allotted nor the money returned.
At least 83 others had been similarly cheated, each of whom paid around ₹1 lakh to Haribabu under the same false pretext. The accused used the money collected from gullible victims to build his own house at Reddy Nagar Colony, Quthbullapur.
During the investigation, statements from eight victims have been formally recorded. Investigating officials also recovered video footage that captured one of the victims handing over the money to the accused. Police have seized a mobile phone used by Haribabu to allegedly commit the offence.
Further investigation is on, and efforts are under way to identify and record the statements of the remaining victims.
Published – July 23, 2025 08:22 pm IST