Hyderabad: Hyderabad IT officials have exposed Pallapu Suresh Kumar, popularly known as ‘Old City Gold Man Surya Bhai‘, after the heavy gold jewellery he wore was found to be allegedly fake.
This revelation came to light when Konda Vijay Kumar, alias ‘Bangaru Babu,’ was detained at the Delhi airport for carrying 2 kg of gold. Officials seized 1.4 kg of ornaments worth Rs 2.3 crore when he failed to provide a satisfactory answer.
Investigation into Konda Vijay Kumar led them to 37-year-old Surya Bhai, a resident of Attapur, who was asked to appear for questioning on Friday, March 27.
He appeared wearing 12 gold jewellery ornaments, claiming it was worth Rs 1 crore.
However, during the course of interrogation, the value dropped to Rs 3 lakh when he confessed that the ornaments were imitation jewellery made from copper with rhodium coating.
He built a public image through YouTube interviews and social media posts, projecting himself as a wealthy “gold man.” He admitted that the display was meant to get attention and improve his chances of landing film roles.
Officials also found that Surya Bhai had not filed his IT returns for six years. He lives with his family in a rented house with a monthly rent of Rs 20,000. His source of income comes from working as a gym instructor and owning a chicken shop.
Investigators said he owned vehicles such as a Thar, Safari, Endeavour and a Bullet motorcycle, but concluded these were largely for show and allegedly acquired through commissions from settling land disputes. They also verified his claim of running the SNS Praja Seva Foundation and an old-age home, but found that the entity was neither registered nor had a PAN.
Further investigations are underway.
