Man extracts Rs 18L from woman, father promising role in films

Visakhapatnam: A 27-year-old-event manager from Bhuvanagiri of Telangana allegedly cheated an elderly man and his daughter of Rs 18 lakh promising to cast her in Telugu films.

Police said the accused R Srinivas Kumar is working as an event manager in Hyderabad. He had put an advertisement in January this year offering roles to junior artists in Telugu films and serials.

A 25-year-old woman from Gajuwaka in Vizag city came across the advertisement and sent photos and other data to Srinivas Kumar expecting to get roles in the movies and serials. Later she also had a conversation with Kumar and both became friends.

Kumar allegedly asked her to pay some amount as a processing fee. He collected money but did not offer her any role. When she asked for the role, he convinced her that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, shooting, and new projects have been stalled across Andhra Pradesh.

Police said that the woman’s father Ch Subrahmanyam, an employee with a pharma company in Hyderabad resigned from his job after his daughter paid the amount to Kumar.

Later Subrahmanyam returned to Vizag city in search of a job. The woman informed Kumar that his father was also looking for a job.

Taking advantage of the situation, Kumar told the woman that he knows the CEO of a pharma company in Vizag and he can land a job to Subrahmanyam. He also collected some amount from Subrahmanyam.

Kumar also made him talk to a woman who identified herself as a drug inspector. After collecting a huge amount from the man and his daughter, Kumar disappeared from the scene.

Subrahmanyam went to Hyderabad and lodged a complaint. However, police registered a missing case and transferred the file to Gajuwaka police in Vizag.

“They showed me the bank transactions and PayTM payments. The amounts were small but ran into lakhs. We are in touch with the Hyderabad police and will find Kumar shortly,’’ said K Surya Prakash, sub-inspector of Gajuwaka police station.