Hidden Treasure Fraud Racket Busted in Hyderabad; Four Arrested
Hyderabad, Aug 10 (TNT): The Commissioner’s Task Force, Shamshabad Zone, in coordination with Rajendra Nagar Police, has busted a cheating racket in which four persons allegedly duped gullible people by claiming that hidden treasures (Gupta Nidhulu) were buried beneath residential premises.
Police arrested four accused — Mohd Munawar alias Munna (36), a painter and denting worker from Gudimalkapur; Syed Ali Ashraf (40), an electrician from Jawahar Nagar, ECIL; Mohd Haji (25), an auto-rickshaw driver from Jawahar Nagar; and Mohd Salman (29), a bike mechanic from Keesara.
Seized two cars, an auto-rickshaw, two motorcycles, four mobile phones, 25 duplicate gold-coated coins, six kg of coal, four kg of soil and pooja material from their possession, said K.S. Rao, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Task Force, Rajendra Nagar & Shamshabad Zones, in a release here on Monday.
According to police, prime accused Munawar allegedly devised the scheme and roped in the other three to execute the fraud.
He allegedly claimed to possess special knowledge of locating underground treasures and targeted people by convincing them that valuable treasure was buried beneath their houses.
After gaining the victims’ confidence, the accused allegedly dug up the identified spots and planted sacks containing coal and duplicate gold-coated coins.
They then told the victims that the coal would gradually transform into gold and left the spot, thereby cheating them of money.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused allegedly cheated 11 persons in different areas, with the total amount involved estimated at around ₹1 crore, police said.
Munawar was also found to have a previous cheating case registered at Begum Bazar Police Station, police added.
A case has been registered at Rajendra Nagar Police Station under Crime No. 916/2026, invoking Sections 318(4), 351(2), 61(2) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is underway.
Police appealed to people not to fall for claims by fraudsters about hidden treasures or underground wealth and urged citizens to immediately inform the police if they come across such activities.
The arrests were made under the supervision of K. Ravi, Inspector of Police, along with SIs K. Mansoor Ali, Narsing Rao and S. Seshu, and other Task Force personnel of Shamshabad Zone, in coordination with Rajendra Nagar Police.
TNT TS
