Nalgonda SP Sharat Chandra Pawar, Devarakonda ASP P. Mounika and others during the press briefing of the case on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
Days after residents attacked his home, the Nalgonda district police nabbed a 26-year-old youth accused of cheating hundreds of people by collecting about ₹50 crore through agents under the guise of offering high-interest investment returns.
The accused, identified as Ramavat Balaji Nayak, a resident of Palugu thanda in Vaddi Patla village in Nalgonda, was arrested on Saturday.
He was booked in three separate cases under Sections 316 (2) and 318 (4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and Section 5 of the Telangana Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act 1999, registered at Gudipalli police station.
Nalgonda SP Sharat Chandra Pawar said that after failing in graduation in 2019, Balaji initially borrowed ₹5 lakh from his relatives to start an ice cream parlour in 2020 but incurred losses. “He later turned to real estate and began borrowing money from locals by promising unusually high monthly interest rates of up to ₹10 per ₹100,” he said.
The SP said that he first repaid early investors to build trust and then recruited agents, mostly relatives and acquaintances, who collected deposits from residents of Putnagandi, Gaddamidi, Chinthal, Nakkalapeta, and Pavurala Gattu. “He issued promissory notes and paid interests regularly to gain credibility. However, over time, he amassed around ₹50 crore, which he used to buy expensive cars, villas, and land in Miryalaguda, Hayatnagar, Nereducherla, Palugu thanda, and Damaracharla,” he added.
Balaji also invested about ₹2.3 crore in wine shop permits, stock market (futures and options), and software companies but suffered heavy losses. As his financial network collapsed, he stopped paying investors and fled when victims began demanding their money back.
106 victims
Police seized two SUVs worth ₹80 lakh, property documents, 36 promissory notes, 77 blank promissory notes, seven mobile phones valued at ₹5.5 lakh, a register book, and an excel sheet containing records of transactions. Investigators have identified 106 victims so far.
Mr. Pawar said that special teams led by the Additional SP are tracing benami assets to recover victims’ money through court proceedings. He appealed to victims not to act in haste or rely on middlemen, and instead approach the Gudipalli police directly with documents to register complaints.
Published – October 11, 2025 08:35 pm IST
