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Hyderabad: A gang of four people was arrested by the Market Police and Malkajgiri Special Operations Team (SOT) on Monday, June 8, for cheating a woman passport applicant last year.
The accused were identified as Shivaratri Siddulu, T Venkatesh, V Ashwin Kumar, all residents of Addagutta, and P Deepak of Alwal. According to the police, the gang was active near the Secunderabad Passport office. They targeted applicants claiming to know officials who could expedite the passport application process.
In June 2025, the victim, Shaheen Sultana, approached the passport office to inquire about her grandson’s passport application status. Saidulu approached Sultana and introduced himself as a broker and assured the woman that the issue would be sorted in a day and took Rs 6,000 from her.
When Sultana contacted him regarding the application status, Saidulu demanded more money, threatening that the passport would not be issued if she refused to pay. The victim realised that she was duped and filed a complaint with the Monda Market Police.
Based on the complaint, the police registered a case of cheating under Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and arrested the accused after a year-long search.
This post was last modified on June 9, 2026 12:32 pm