WARANGAL: Police officials from Subedari Police Station in Hanamkonda arrested three people, including the manager of the Warangal Officers’ Club, for allegedly cheating over 145 people and collecting nearly ₹2 crore from them under the pretext of offering club memberships.
Revealing details to the media, inspector P. Satyanarayan Reddy said the three accused have been identified as Goli Gopal Reddy (48), the club manager; Cheruku Venkata Raji Reddy (50), the former joint secretary; and Podishetti Ravinder (47), a shuttle boy — all residents of Hanamkonda district.
Gopal Reddy, who joined the Warangal Officers’ Club as manager in 2015 — a club with VIP members including the collector, MLAs, contractors, and prominent businessmen — devised a scheme to make easy money. The official membership fee of the club is ₹1.40 lakh.
Gopal Reddy exploited the membership system by collecting ₹1.30 crore from aspiring members, issuing them ID cards without officially registering their names in the club’s records. Raji Reddy collected ₹60 lakh in the name of memberships but diverted the funds for personal use instead of depositing them with the club. Ravinder also played a role in the scam by bringing in new members, for which Gopal Reddy paid him ₹10 lakh.
The scam came to light when Gattigoppula Srinivas (45), the club’s bartender, uncovered the fraudulent activities. The three accused allegedly offered him ₹10 lakh to stay silent. However, when he refused, Srinivas died by suicide at the club in April, leaving behind a video detailing the incident.
Following a complaint filed by Srinivas’s family, a case was registered at Subedari Police Station, prompting a detailed investigation. The probe revealed that the three accused had collected approximately ₹2 crore from around 145 individuals, without depositing the funds into the club’s official accounts.
Acting on a tip-off that the three accused were holding a secret meeting at the club on Sunday night, the police conducted a raid and took them into custody.
