Nagraju Budumuru, a former Ranji cricketer, committed fraud by pretending to be Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, and deceiving 60 companies out of INR 3 crore. In a noteworthy incident from last year, the 28-year-old posed as Reddy’s personal assistant and contacted a municipal electronics employee, requesting sponsorship for Ricky Bhui, a talented cricketer from Andhra.
Nagraju Budumuru posed as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and called the managing director of a chain of stores, requesting INR 12 lakh to sponsor Ricky Bhui, a young batsman. He used falsified documents to support his identity and successfully deceived the business.
The company waited for a response from the cricket organization before filing a complaint, after transferring the funds to Budumuru. According to the police, Budumuru has defrauded over 60 companies for a total of more than INR 3 crore since 2018. They have recovered approximately INR 7.7 lakh from him, and he has reportedly confessed to the crime.
After a comprehensive investigation and interrogation, the police were able to recover approximately INR 7.6 lakh. According to a report from the cybercrime division, Budumuru’s downfall began in 2018 when he failed to meet expectations and started longing for his lavish lifestyle. Consequently, he resorted to deceiving others to maintain it.
“As per the report, his primary motive behind swindling people under various pretexts was to sustain his luxurious lifestyle, which he missed after he stopped performing well on the field post-2018,” said an official from the cyber police.
Budumuru exhibited great potential in his early years of cricket, and in 2014, he was selected to represent Andhra Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy. However, he couldn’t retain his position in the state squad. Despite being a member of the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Indian Premier League team, he never got the chance to make his league debut.
