2 Names, 10 Numbers: CBI Arrests 'Dead' Hyderabad Man In Fraud Case After 20-Year-Long Hunt

Rao, who had been on the run for 20 years, used to change his identity and location frequently to evade arrest, a press release from the federal agency said.

A 2002 Case

The Central Bureau of Investigation had in May 2002 registered a case against Rao, who was working as a computer operator at SBI's Chandulal Biradari Branch in Hyderabad at the time.

The case was based on allegations that he had cheated the bank of Rs 50 lakh in the name of fake tenders of electronic shops and fake salary certificates in his family members and close associates' names.

The federal investigation agency filed two chargesheets on December 31, 2004, the same year Rao went missing.

Seven years after the accused allegedly went missing, his wife -- also an accused in the fraud case lodged with the city policy -- had moved the Civil Court to declare her husband as dead.

Following the plea from Rao's wife, the civil court of Hyderabad passed an order declaring V Chalapathi Rao dead.

How Accused Evaded Arrest For 20 Years

According to CBI's information, the accused -- Chalapathi Rao -- had fled to Tamil Nadu's Salem, changed his name to M Vineet Kumar, obtained an Aadhaar card and married a lady there.

Through his second wife, the CBI came to know that the accused was in touch with his son from his first marriage, news agency PTI reported.

In 2014, Rao left Salem without informing anyone and went to Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal, where he worked as a loan recovery agent.

He then moved to Uttarakhand's Rudrapur and worked in a School. But when CBI's team went there, they found out that the accused fled in 2016 and moved to an Ashram in Aurangabad's Verul village.

The accused once again changed his name, from Vineet Kumar to Swamy Vidhitatmanand Teertha and again obtained an Aadhaar card.

Then in December 2021, he left the Ashram as well after allegedly cheating the institution of Rs 70 lakh.

Rao then moved to Rajasthan's Bharatpur and stayed there till July 8, 2024. From there he relocated to Tirunelveli to stay with one of his disciples.

During his time on the run, Rao changed his phone numbers around ten times and was now planning to escape to Sri Lanka by sea route.

Finally, the CBI arrested Chalapathi Rao on August 4 from Narsinganallur village in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli where he was hiding. Thereafter, he was produced before a local court, which remanded him till August 16.