Manhunt Finally Ends: Notorious Bank Fraudster Caught After Two Decades of Elusive Escapes
(Judicial Quest News Network)
Hyderabad, 06, August,2024
In a dramatic turn of events, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has successfully apprehended Shri V. Chalapathi Rao, a notorious Proclaimed Offender (PO) who had managed to evade capture for nearly two decades. Rao, previously a Computer Operator at the State Bank of India’s Chandulal Biradari Branch in Hyderabad, was implicated in a massive bank fraud involving a staggering Rs. 50 lakh.
The saga began on May 1, 2002, when the CBI initiated a case against Rao for defrauding the bank with fabricated electronic shop quotations and bogus salary certificates. The fraudulent scheme, which saw Rao embezzling substantial funds, led to charges being filed on December 31, 2004. Despite the serious nature of the charges, Rao vanished from the radar in 2004, prompting a nationwide manhunt.
Adding to the intrigue, Rao’s wife, also an accused in the fraud, lodged a police report and later sought a civil court declaration of Rao’s presumed death after his prolonged absence. The court granted this declaration, further complicating the case.
In 2013, after exhaustive legal procedures, Rao was declared a Proclaimed Offender under Sections 82 and 83 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Despite the CBI’s persistent efforts, Rao continued to elude capture by constantly changing his identity and locations.
Rao’s trail led the investigators on a wild chase across the country. He initially fled to Salem, Tamil Nadu, where he assumed a new identity as M. Vineet Kumar and married again. In 2014, he relocated to Bhopal and later to Rudrapur in Uttarakhand, where he worked various jobs under different aliases. Each time, Rao seemed to vanish just as authorities were closing in.
The breakthrough came when CBI agents traced Rao to an Ashram in Verul village, Aurangabad, where he was living under the name Swamy Vidhitatmanand Teertha. Despite changing his name and obtaining a new Aadhaar card, Rao’s fraudulent activities continued, including a new scam where he swindled the Ashram out of approximately Rs. 70 lakh.
Rao’s final stint was in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, where he lived under the same alias until July 8, 2024. He then moved to Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, intending to escape to Sri Lanka by sea. The CBI’s relentless pursuit and meticulous investigation, including leveraging Gmail’s Law Enforcement Department to trace his digital footprint, finally led to his capture in Narsinganallur village, Tirunelveli on August 4, 2024.
Rao was swiftly brought before the Special Judge for CBI Cases in Hyderabad and has been remanded to judicial custody until August 16, 2024. With his arrest, the long-running case is set to proceed to trial, bringing an end to one of the most elusive and intricate manhunts in recent memory.
