Bengaluru: 5 arrested for cheating businessman of Rs 1.9 crore in land deal

Bengaluru: High Grounds police have arrested five persons on accusations of theft, cheating an Andhra Pradesh-based businessman of Rs 1.90 crore in a land purchase scam.

The arrested accused have been identified as Sanjay Srinivas, Lokanathachari, Prabhakar Reddy, Rajesh, and Polvin Ravikumar, all residents of Bengaluru. Cash worth Rs 65 lakh, gold jewellery worth Rs 8.50 lakhs, and four cars were seized from them, police said.

The accused contacted the complainant, an Andhra Pradesh-based businessman named Radhakrishna, and offered to facilitate the sale of a land property in Tirupati.

Later the accused allegedly asked the complainant’s friend Shivakumar to accompany them to Bengaluru with the Rs 1.9 crore for finalising the deal. Midway, the accused gave a ruse that they were thirsty and asked Shivakumar to buy a bottle of water.

When Shivakumar got down to fetch a water bottle, the accused fled with the car they were travelling in, police said.

Shivakumar informed the theft to Radhakrishna, who registered a complaint.