Two held in Jubilee Hills for siphoning Rs 8.7 lakh from CM Relief Fund
CM Relief Fund fraud case: Two held for siphoning Rs 8.7 lakh meant for beneficiaries
By Newsmeter Network
Hyderabad: The Jubilee Hills police have busted a major scam involving the misappropriation of funds sanctioned under the Chief Ministerās Relief Fund (CMRF).
The total misappropriated amount of Rs 8.71 lakh was shared among the accused who were arrested, while two others remain absconding. The case involves forging documents and siphoning off lakhs meant for needy beneficiaries.
Who are the accused?
The arrested have been identified as Jogula Naresh Kumar (42), a kirana store owner from Mettuguda, Secunderabad; Balagoni Venkatesh (37), an office subordinate at the MPDO office, Nalgonda, residing at Vanasthalipuram, Hyderabad.
The absconding included Korlapati Vamshi (24), a car driver from Khammam; and Pulipaka Omkar (34), a driver from Godavarikhani, Peddapalle district. Other unidentified associates are involved in the conspiracy.
How was the scam carried out?
Investigations revealed that the prime accused, Naresh Kumar, who had worked at a ministerās office, misused his access to CMRF cheques. After the BRS government lost power in 2023, he unlawfully took away 230 sanctioned but undistributed cheques.
The accused identified 19 cheques issued to applicants who did not follow up and deposited them into accounts opened with similar names at the SBI Jubilee Hills branch using forged documents, the police said.
Previous cases against them
Police stated that the accused are involved in five similar cases registered at Jubilee Hills PS under sections for cheating, forgery and IT Act violations. These include cheating, forgery, IT Act offences, criminal breach of trust, forgery, IT Act offences, misappropriation, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.
Based on credible information, Addl. Inspector R. Madhusudhan and his team arrested Naresh Kumar and Venkatesh on July 14. During interrogation, they confessed to their involvement. Both were produced in court and sent to judicial remand on July 15, 2025.
Efforts are on to nab the remaining accused.
