Hyderabad: Mailardevpally Police have arrested two interstate accused in a dating app theft case involving cheating, theft of gold ornaments and financial fraud, and recovered stolen property, cash and a vehicle.
Police identified the accused as Kudumula Pandu Ranga Rao alias Sunny Naidu, 32, from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and Periyannan alias Kumar from Vellore district in Tamil Nadu.
The arrests followed a complaint filed by Jetla Srivani, a resident of Kattedan, on June 2.
According to police, the complainant became acquainted with the prime accused through Instagram and the Eaze app about a week before the incident.
The accused allegedly introduced himself as the managing director of a finance company and the son of a prominent film producer. He then offered the complainant a high-paying job and gained her confidence.
Dating app theft case linked to fake job offer
Police said the accused cited a financial emergency on June 1 and persuaded the complainant to transfer Rs 7,500.
The following day, he allegedly contacted her through Instagram and expressed a desire to meet. The complainant invited him to her residence in Kattedan.
While discussing the proposed job opportunity, the complainant briefly left the room to bring him water. Police alleged that the accused used the opportunity to steal her gold Mangalsutram and leave the house.
After discovering the theft, the woman lodged a complaint with Mailardevpally Police.
Police registered a case under Sections 318(4) and 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Dating app theft case solved through technical evidence
Acting on intelligence inputs and technical evidence, the Mailardevpally Crime Team apprehended both accused on June 11.
Police recovered two gold Pusthelu and two gold Gundlu belonging to the Mangalsutram. They also seized Rs 70,000 in cash and a Toyota Etios car bearing registration number KA 52 B 9241.
Investigators further recovered a gold loan receipt, two Vivo mobile phones, one OnePlus mobile phone, an Airtel Payments Bank ATM card and an Indian Bank RuPay debit card.
Rajendranagar Zone Police advised the public not to trust unknown individuals on dating or social networking applications.
Police also urged citizens to avoid sharing personal information, making financial transactions or inviting unverified online acquaintances to their homes.
The investigation proceeded under the supervision of ACP Chandrayangutta A. Sudhakar. SHO Sathyanarayana, DI Maqsood Ali and the Mailardevpally Police team played key roles in solving the case.