Ex-cricketer impersonates as KTR PA, arrested

Hyderabad: A 26-year-old Andhra Ranji cricketer from Srikakulam district B Nagaraju, who posed as the Personal Assistant of IT Minister and cheated several entities and collected Rs 39 lakhs, has been arrested by the City Task Force police, on Saturday.

The Hyderabad City Commissioner Anjani Kumar said that the former cricketer was apprehended following complaints of cheating corporate entities by posing himself as personal assistant to the Minister KT Rama Rao. Police seized Rs 10 lakh and a mobile phone from the accused. Police officials informed that Nagaraju is a habitual fraudster and was targeting businessmen from IT industry making calls and demanding huge amounts. Anjani Kumar said, "The accused called businessmen, colleges and corporate hospitals and realtors saying that the IT Minister is going to be sworn in as Telangana's Chief Minister and money is required for the swearing in ceremony and for giving advertisements."

Nagaraju who holds the Guinness Book of World Records for batting in the nets for 82 hours was arrested when he contacted a corporate hospital and demanded money over mobile phone. This is not for the first time. He was also arrested in November last year in some fraud case. Several fraud cases were registered against him in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the commissioner added.

However, Nagaraju was a good cricketer and played for the U-14 Visakhapatnam team in 2006 and also got selected for the Andhra Ranji team in 2014, in which he marked excellent performance well. For his good batting skills, donors came forward to help him financially. Later, he turned habitual for easy earnings and started cheating people and was jailed for many times.