PANCHKULA POLICE ARRESTS TWO MORE ACCUSED FROM HYDERABAD IN ₹3.16 CRORE CYBER FRAUD CASE; FIVE ARRESTED SO FAR

Face2News/Panchkula

Panchkula Police is taking continuous action against cybercrime and cracking down on cyber fraud networks operating across different states. Under the leadership of Commissioner of Police IPS Pankaj Nain, the Cyber Crime Police team has arrested two more accused from Hyderabad in a ₹3.16 crore cyber fraud case involving a company. The arrested accused have been identified as Punnapurreddy Praveen Prasad Raja, a resident of Hyderabad, and Vakanagi Reddy, a resident of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, currently residing in Hyderabad. Both accused were arrested from Hyderabad on August 29, 2026, and were taken on police remand after being produced before the court.

The case relates to a cyber fraud in which the WhatsApp account and laptop of a construction company were targeted. The cyber fraudsters first used an old business contact of the company and sent a fake ZIP file through WhatsApp. Later, messages were sent to the company’s WhatsApp from another mobile number in the name of the company owner. The fraudsters gained the accountant’s trust, asked about the balance in the company’s bank accounts and instructed him to transfer money to different bank accounts. Following these instructions, a total of ₹3.16 crore was transferred from the company’s accounts to different bank accounts. Later, the company owner personally called the accountant and asked him to stop any further transactions. This led to the fraud being discovered and a complaint was filed with the police.

During the investigation, it was found that ₹1.06 crore of the fraud amount was transferred to the bank account of Integrated Women Development Society, while ₹80 lakh was transferred to the bank account of Punnapurreddy Prakashasthrulu Private Limited. Based on technical investigation, the Cyber Crime Police team, led by SHO Yudhveer Singh, arrested Punnapurreddy Praveen Prasad Raja and his associate Vakanagi Reddy from Hyderabad.

During questioning, both accused provided important information about their associates and the bank accounts used in the fraud. With these arrests, Panchkula Police has so far arrested five accused in the case. Earlier, the police had arrested Devarajan A.P., a resident of Chennai; Pandishwari, a resident of Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu; and Sushil Ganjanan, a resident of Kolhapur, Maharashtra, from Chennai. The two accused arrested from Hyderabad were later sent to judicial custody.

Commissioner of Police IPS Pankaj Nain said that Panchkula Police teams are conducting continuous raids at different locations to trace and arrest the other accused involved in the case. The role of other suspects identified during the investigation is also being thoroughly examined.