Arrested former Ranji cricketer duped 60 companies of ₹3 crore, wanted to sustain luxurious lifestyle: Reports
Nagraju Budumuru, a former Ranji Trophy cricketer from Andhra Pradesh, who has reportedly been arrested in a cheating case, is said to have duped 60 companies to the tune of ₹3 crore.
Budumuru,.28, has been arrested for allegedly cheating on an electronics chain of ₹12 lakh. He is said to have impersonated an aide of Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Budumuru was part of the Andhra Ranji Trophy team from 2014 to 2016. Apparently, he was also once part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.
According to a report in The Hindustan Times, the accused called up an employee of a city electronics store by posing as an aide of Reddy. He sought sponsorship for Ricky Bhui, claiming he was a personal assistant to Andhra CM Reddy.
Budumuru forged documents to prove his identity and his association with the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
A complaint was filed against the former cricketer after the company transferred ₹12 lakh to the accused, but there was no subsequent interaction over the deal.
Dr Balsing Rajput, DCP (cyber-crime) was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times:
“After receiving the complaint, our team began tracking the money that was supposed to be given as sponsorship. The money trail pointed out to Budumuru. We nabbed him from his native place -Yavaripetta in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh earlier this week."
According to the police, Budumuru is said to have cheated 60 companies out of around ₹3 crore. The cops are said to have recovered nearly ₹7.6 lakh from the accused.
Why Nagraju Budumuru turned from cricket to crime
After his cricket career failed to take off, Budumuru took to con jobs, since he wanted to sustain his luxurious lifestyle, which he had become used to. The HT report quoted the cyber police as saying:
“When he stopped doing well on the field after 2018, he started missing the luxurious lifestyle that he had become used to. That was his primary motive behind conning people under various pretexts.”
The report added that the former cricketer is an MBA graduate who even attempted to enter the Guinness Book of Records for the longest net session by an individual batsman in 2016.