Man held from Ballari in AP CM Relief Fund scam

Ballari: Days after six Dakshina Kannada residents were held for attempting to swindle crores of rupees from the AP Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), another person was held in Ballari on Thursday while he tried to encash cheques in the banks here.

The arrested happens to be an Andhra Pradesh police personnel. A bank staffer, who grew suspicious about the transaction contacted the Andhra Pradesh Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) following which he was taken him into custody.

Using forged cheques, the fraudsters attempted to siphon off Rs 117 crore from the AP CM Relief Fund from New Delhi, Kolkata and Karnataka.

A case in this connection was registered in September in Andhra Pradesh, based on a complaint filed by P Murali Krishna Rao, assistant secretary of the Revenue Department.

Recently one of the accused had allegedly tried to deposit a Rs 52 crore cheque at State Bank of India in Moodbidri here. The bank officials, who grew suspicious, contacted officials in Andhra Pradesh and learnt about the scam, following which the transaction was stopped.