A fraudster who claimed to be an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officer and collected huge amounts of money from officials not to begin “proceedings’’ against them, is cooling his heels in the custody of the agency.
Lakshmi Narayana, a native of Warangal district in Telangana state, carried on his scam for a few months before the Central Investigation Unit (CIU) of ACB was tipped off. The agency rounded him up and handed him over to the law and order police for further investigation of his racket.
Narayana allegedly wrote official-looking letters to his quarry, informing them that ACB had information about the disproportionate assets amassed by them through corrupt means. Then, he would privately contact them by phone, and warn them that they would be raided by ACB sleuths anytime. Said an ACB officer, “Narayana would tell the officials that the raids could be pre-empted by ‘managing’ ACB higher-ups at headquarters if only they would pay him.” Lakshmi Narayana would furnish gave a bank account number in which money could be deposited. A few officers fell for his trick and paid up. However, some suspected foul play and approached the police.
A senior ACB official said, “We are investigating whether a terminated employee or an insider were involved in the fraud.”
Posing as an ACB sleuth, he would write to officials and threaten them with raids
