Accused Nagaraju Budumuru represented Andhra Pradesh in Ranji Trophy between 2014 and 2016 and was also a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team in the IPL.
Published Mar 16, 2023 | 11:24 AM ⚊ Updated Mar 16, 2023 | 11:24 AM
Nagaraju Budumuru. (Instagram/Nagaraju Budumuru)
The Mumbai Cyber Crime Police has arrested a former Ranji and Sunrisers Hyderabad cricketer from Andhra Pradesh for allegedly conning the managing director of a Mumbai-based firm in a vishing (voice phishing) case.
He was asking for ₹12 lakh sponsorship for budding cricketer Ricky Bhui of Madhya Pradesh.
The accused has been identified as 28-year-old Nagaraju Budumuru, a resident of Yavaripetta in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.
“He used to pose as the PA of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and asked the corporate house to sponsor emerging cricketers from the state — to con them of money. He even posted his WhatsApp profile picture as the CM’s PA,” Mumbai Cyber Crime police DCP Balsingh Rajput told South First.
He represented Andhra Pradesh in Ranji Trophy between 2014 and 2016. He was also a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team in the IPL, and the India B team from 2016 to 2018.
An MBA graduate, Budumuru, in 2016, he even attempted to enter the Guinness Book of Records for longest net session by an individual batsman.
According to the police, Budumuru had contacted a city-based electronics shop chain. He introduced himself as Nageshwar Reddy, the personal assistant of the Andhra Pradesh chief minister.
“He also emailed a bunch of fake documents to show his relationship with the National Cricket Academy after which the company paid him ₹12 lakh,” Senior Inspector Cyber Crime Suvarna Shinde told South First.
She added that when the company did hear from the “cricket board”, they lodged a complaint in January against the unknown conman.
After his cricketing career was down and out in 2018, Budumuru took to cheating to continue the luxurious lifestyle he had got used to.
South First went through Budumuru’s social media profile where he could seen in luxurious hotel rooms, swimming pools, onboard airplanes, and other such spots.
After receiving the complaint, the cops began tracking the money that was supposed to have been given as sponsorship. The money trail led to Budumuru.
Out of the ₹12 lakh, the police has frozen ₹7.66 lakh spread across different accounts.
According to the polce, since 2018 the former cricketer has allegedly cheated at least 60 companies to the tune of ₹3 crore.
“He has targeted business houses primarily in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He has around 30 cases in the past in which arrests were made in 10. He also had several complaints against him in Mumbai, but has been arrested for the first time here,” Shinde said.
As per reports, Budumuru was arrested for posing as the PA to Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao as well and duped nine firms of ₹40 lakh.