HYDERABAD: In an elaborate fraud to secure a govt job on compassionate grounds, a man colluded with his relatives and govt officials to submit a fake certificate claiming his father, a retired health dept employee in Nalgonda, died in service.However, before the accused, Chamakuri Raju, could grab the job, the fraud was exposed after Nalgonda municipal commissioner Vamsi Krishna noticed discrepancies in the records he had submitted and lodged a complaint, prompting an investigation.On Sunday, police arrested 14 people, including Raju, his mother, other relatives, and employees of the municipal and medical and health departments.They have been booked under various sections of BNS, IT Act, Aadhaar Act, and Registration of Births and Deaths Act, and remanded in judicial custody. Two other accused – Rajashekar and Ravinder – are absconding, Nalgonda police said.Chamakuri Venkateswarlu retired as a health assistant at Shaligouraram primary health centre on May 31, 2025. He died of kidney-related complications on Nov 17, 2025.However, the fake death certificate showed him having died on May 28, 2025, just three days before his retirement, thereby making his son, Raju, eligible for compassionate appointment.Police said Raju allegedly hatched the conspiracy during his father’s 10th-day death rituals on Nov 26, 2025.Nalgonda superintendent of police, Sharath Chandra Pawar, said Venkateswarlu’s relatives Chamakuri Rajashekar, an administrative officer, and Chamakuri Ravinder, a health assistant at Kethepally PHC, allegedly coordinated with Shaligouraram PHC senior assistant Kancharla Jagannadha Reddy, Venkateswarlu’s wife Vasantha, son Raju and another relative, Rachakonda Venkateswarlu, to execute the plan.
13L paid to accomplices
“They approached Pole Ranjith Kumar, a computer operator at the district medical and health officer’s office and agreed to pay 13 lakh to all the accomplices to facilitate the appointment,” the SP said.As part of the alleged scheme, the accused first arranged to have Venkateswarlu’s Aadhaar address changed through a MeeSeva centre operated by Panasa Chandrasekhar. The altered records were then allegedly used to obtain the fake death certificate.Medical officer Dr Akula Krishna Surya Shilpa forwarded Raju’s application, while several employees at the DMHO office allegedly prepared false verification reports to facilitate his appointment at the Damaracharla PHC.Municipal ward officer Mukka Muvva Shiva Janardhan and sanitary inspector N Pradeep Reddy were also allegedly involved in processing the certificate in violation of prescribed procedures, police said. Kattla Satish, the deceased’s nephew, allegedly assisted the operation by signing the relevant documents as a witness.During the investigation, police seized 5 lakh in cash, a computer, a printer, 12 mobile phones and a photograph of the deceased from the accused.
