A Hyderabad-based techie has been arrested for duping Pune University of crores in a massive cyber fraud. The accused, identified as Kilaru Seetaiah, posed as an IIT Mumbai professor and promised projects worth Rs 28 crore to the university between July 25 and August 26.
Seetaiah convinced officials to deposit an initial Rs 56 lakh, followed by additional payments in instalments, totalling Rs 2.46 crore. When no projects materialised, the university contacted IIT Mumbai, only to learn that no such proposal had been made. Realising the scam, they lodged a complaint with police.
Investigations revealed Seetaiah, an electronics and telecommunications engineer with a PhD from a UK university, was the sole culprit. He had even cleared UPSC prelims and mains in 2019-20, according to his statement to police.
Seetaiah is now in police custody following a court order. Authorities described the case as a reminder of how even prestigious institutions can fall victim to elaborate cyber fraud schemes.
