Hyderabad, April 9 BRS MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy said on Thursday that he was cheated by cyber criminals who impersonated government officials, offering financial assistance to unemployed youth in his constituency under a central government scheme.
Reddy, who represents Jangaon in the legislative assembly, said the scammers contacted him on April 5 and claimed that 40 young men and women in the constituency would receive Rs 10 lakh in aid, including a grant of Rs 5 lakh, under the ‘Prime Minister Vikshit Bharat’ scheme.
He was instructed to pay Rs 2,500 per application, with April 5 as the deadline.
“I thought our youth should benefit from the scheme, so I decided to pay the money myself as that day was the last date to apply. I transferred Rs 1 lakh through a digital payments app for 40 people from my wife’s phone. Later, I realised it was a fraud and lodged a complaint with the Jubilee Hills police station,” Reddy told reporters.