Police in Hyderabad have arrested two men for defrauding businessmen and builders by impersonating State Finance and Health Minister T Harish Rao. The men set up a fake organisation called ‘Harish Anna Seva Samithi’ and claimed to be associated with the minister. They misled people into believing that prominent BRS ministers and leaders were donors to their organisation. The accused were identified as Perala Venkatesh and Gaddameedi Rajesh Kumar. Police are still pursuing a third suspect, Venkateswara Rao.

The police seized a receipt book titled ‘Harish Anna Seva Samithi’ containing 69 duplicate receipts, 37 filled receipts and four cell phones in possession of the accused. The trio falsely presented Gundala Mallesh Goud, a BRS leader, as the president of the fraudulent organisation. Venkateswara Rao assumed the role of vice president, while Rajesh Kumar posed as the general secretary, using a fake registration bearing the number 1963/2016.

The police acted on credible information and apprehended both suspects on Tuesday with the help of Punjagutta Police. They are investigating the case further.