Former Ranji Cricketer Arrested For Posing as Andhra Chief Minister And Duping Company of Rs 12 Lakh

A former Ranji cricketer has reportedly been arrested in Andhra Pradesh in  a cheating case after he allegedly duped an electronics chain of Rs 12 lakh. Nagraju Budumuru is alleged to have impersonated as Andhra CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and has cheated 60 companies of Rs 3 crore as per the police.

In December last year, Budumuru, 28, called up an employee of a city electronics store posing as an aide of Reddy asking the corporate to sponsor an up and coming cricketer from the state. He introduced himself as the personal assistant of Andhra CM while asking for sponsoring Ricky Bhui.

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To convince the company representatives, Budumuru also emailed them forged documents as proof of his identity and association with the National Cricket Academy. A complaint was lodged against the conman after the company didn’t hear back from the cricket board having transferred Rs 12 lakh to him.

“After receiving the complaint, our team began tracking the money that was supposed to be given as sponsorship. The money trail pointed out to Budumuru. We nabbed him from his native place — Yavaripetta in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh earlier this week,” Dr Balsing Rajput, DCP (cyber-crime) was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

The police reportedly has recovered nearly Rs 7.6 lakh from the accused.

After his career took a turn for the worst, Budumuru began using the modus operandi to sustain his luxurious lifestyle which he had become accustomed to.

“When he stopped doing well on the field after 2018, he started missing the luxurious lifestyle that he had become used to. That was his primary motive behind conning people under various pretexts,” official from the cyber police was quoted as saying in the report.

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Budumuru was part of Andhra Ranji team between 2014 and 2016. He was also part of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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