Cyber fraudsters allegedly duped a person out of ₹80,000 by reportedly impersonating former Minister Devineni Uma.

The victim, identified as P. Srinivasa Reddy, had recently posted on social media, tagging IT Minister Nara Lokesh and requesting the latter to develop a park at a specific location in his locality.

According to the police, a day after making the request, Srinivasa Reddy received a phone call from an unknown person whose profile displayed a photograph of senior TDP leader Devineni Uma. The caller allegedly introduced himself as the former minister and assured the victim that efforts would be made to facilitate the construction of the park.

The fraudster reportedly informed the victim that certain expenses were involved in processing the proposal and persuaded him to transfer money. To make the deception appear genuine, the accused allegedly made a fake video call featuring Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and sent fake messages purportedly from a few local MLAs to gain the victim’s trust.

Srinivasa Reddy transferred ₹80,000 to the fraudsters. However, he later realised that he had been cheated and approached the Cyber Crime Police to lodge a complaint. Based on the complaint, police registered a case and initiated an investigation.