Hyderabad: A mobile forensic laboratory van, to be used to expedite on-ground investigations, was launched under an initiative of the ministry of home affairs. The van, equipped with advanced forensic tools, is designed to help police collect and analyse evidence directly at crime scenes.
The Rachakonda police commissionerate received one such vehicle. Commissioner Sudheer Babu inspected the van at the commissionerate office in Neradmet and reviewed its features.
The van includes digital forensics equipment, narcotics detection kits, semen testing kits, time-of-death estimators and tools for DNA preservation. It enables field-level evidence analysis before crucial samples are transferred to central labs, reducing delays and boosting accuracy in investigations.
Additional DCP Shyam Sunder, Additional DCP (Admin) Shiva Kumar, CCRB ACP Ramesh, RI Subhan Goud, Clues inspector Anil, crime scene officer Neelima, SI Pranay and members of the technical staff were present.
TGCSB nabs 4 in Rs 3-cr IPO scam
The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) arrested four persons from Hyderabad in a Rs 3 crore investment scam. The accused include one account holder and three agents who facilitated fraudulent transactions.
TGCSB director Shikha Goel said the victim, a North Lalaguda resident, was approached in April by a woman named Anu Pritha Daga, who posed as an assistant mentor to a company CEO. She added the victim to a WhatsApp group with about 60 members and shared a fake IPO investment link.
Anu sent the victim forged SEBI approval letters, claiming funds would be routed through authorised third-party accounts. She then falsely claimed that the victim had been allotted Rs 49 crore worth of shares of a company without obtaining his consent. When he objected, she told him he could regularise the allotment by paying Rs 3 crore.
Believing her, the victim transferred Rs 3 crore to 16 accounts. One account in Kerala received Rs 77 lakh, of which Rs 8 lakh was sent to the accused Srinivas Manubothula, a software consultant from Narsingi.
“Srinivas started a drone software firm in 2023 and opened a current account with Axis Bank under the name ‘Drones Spray’,” said Goel. “He suffered losses and was introduced by his friend Sekhar to Jaber Ahmed, who then connected him to Syed Yousuf. Yousuf explained the account would be used for cyber fraud and offered a 10 per cent commission. Srinivas agreed.”
Yousuf and an associate travelled to Mumbai with the SIM linked to Srinivas’s account. Fraudsters transferred Rs 4.3 crore into the account, later redistributed to other accounts via net banking. Srinivas received Rs 2 lakh. Forty-six NCRP petitions have been filed against this bank account across states.
Police seized four mobile phones and arrested all four accused. A search is ongoing for Anu Pritha Daga and other racket members. TGCSB urged citizens not to share bank details for commissions or offers and to report suspicious activity to 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
