Two more persons have been arrested in the Gandipeta government land scam case

The Narsingh police have arrested two more accused, including the mastermind, in a fake Government Order (GO) related to an attempt to illegally acquire valuable government land in Gandipet through forged official records and fabricated government documents.

The arrested persons have been identified as Veladi Radhakrishna, 53, named accused number 9 and Gyara Praveen Kumar, 34, his driver and accused number 10. Their arrest comes after three other accused from Gandipet village were earlier taken into custody in connection with the scam.

The case pertains to conspiracy to encroach on poramboke government land in survey number 18 of Gandipet village by creating forged government orders, fabricated Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) records, fake No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and other forged official documents.

According to investigators, Radhakrishna worked as an outsourced employee in the Information Technology and Communication Department of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Secretariat between 2006 and 2009. During this period, he became familiar with government procedures and administrative systems.

Police said that after he left his job, he started posing as a deputy collector and advocate, promising to secure government jobs, land regularization orders, pattadar passbooks, inheritance and various government permits for payment.

Investigators found that his involvement in fraud dates back more than a decade. In 2013, he collected ₹30,000 from unemployed youth by promising government jobs. When the promised works did not materialise, a cheating case was registered against him at the Karimnagar II police station.

Police records show that several other cases of cheating and forgery were subsequently registered against him in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Confiscated items | Photo credit: By arrangement

During the investigation it was revealed that he had come in contact with individuals who were claiming rights to government land in Survey No. 18 in Gandipet village and saw an opportunity to make substantial profits.

According to the police, Radhakrishna developed a connection with Kovvuru Sunil through his driver Praveen Kumar and later came in contact with several residents of Gandipet village, including Nimmala Rajesh, Nimmala Venugopal, Nimmala Ramaswamy and Garela Manga.

Investigators said Radhakrishna was aware that the land in question was government “poramboke” land and that there were no legal ownership rights over it. Despite this, he assured potential buyers, including Andhra Pradesh-based political leader Brahmanayud and his brother Ramesh, that government approvals, succession proceedings and regularization orders could be secured.

Investigation revealed that Radhakrishna and Sunil collected large sums of money from individuals connected to the land while assuring them that documents granting legal rights to the property could be arranged.

When obtaining real permits proved impossible, Radhakrishna, with the help of a lawyer, fabricated fake government orders, fake CCLA proceedings, fake NOCs and other official correspondence. The documents contained forged names and signatures of senior government officials and were designed to appear authentic.

Investigation further revealed that Sunil, Karanam Rajesh, Praveen Kumar and Prabhudas aided the conspiracy by facilitating financial transactions, transporting documents and passing information between the accused.

Police said financial transactions worth around ₹ 12 crore took place between Brahmanayudu, Ramesh and other individuals associated with the land deal as part of the alleged conspiracy.

Police recovered the original artificial GOs, five laptops, 12 check books, 13 stamps, seven bank passbooks, 10 ATM cards and 31 documents related to various land transactions.

Published – 31 May 2026 19:10 IST