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Hyderabad: The Central Crime Station (CCS) in Hyderabad has initiated a probe after a forged official letter, allegedly from the office of Minister for Information Technology, Industries, and Legislative Affairs D Sridhar Babu, was discovered.
The incident came to light when U Raghu Ram Sharma, the minister’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD), received a WhatsApp message from an acquaintance on May 10, which contained a suspicious letter purportedly signed by him.
The document, dated April 2, 2025, referenced a cybersecurity project proposal from an Ahmedabad-based company.
Upon investigation, the minister’s office identified several discrepancies in the letter. It was printed on an outdated letterhead format that had been discontinued on March 26, and the letter number 4145 had already been used in October of the previous year.
Furthermore, official records indicated that all letters issued on April 2, 2025, began with the number 7059, not 4145. These inconsistencies led Sharma to file a formal complaint, noting that such acts not only damage personal and professional reputations but also undermine the integrity of the minister’s office.
The case was initially registered at Saifabad police station under multiple sections of the law but was later transferred to the CCS. It was re-registered on June 3 under sections 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 336(3) (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 337 (forgery of record of court or of public register, etc.), and 340(2) (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The police are also investigating whether the forged document was used to facilitate financial fraud, as the letter was related to a significant cybersecurity project proposal.
The CCS continues to investigate the origins of the forgery and any parties that may have benefited from the act.
This post was last modified on June 7, 2025 10:20 am