Three persons were arrested by Alwal police for cheating nearly 100 families by promising them government 2-BHK houses and issuing forged allotment certificates. As many as 79 fake documents and three mobile phones used in the fraud were seized.

The accused were identified as Timmiri Gopinath Pushpalatha, 54, a resident of Trimulgherry, her son Timmiri Gopinath Vishal, 21, and Mahender Singh, 45, proprietor of Radhaswamy photocopy centre in Trimulgherry. All three were apprehended on June 24.

According to police, the accused collected between ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh from victims by falsely claiming they could secure allotments under the government’s 2-BHK housing scheme. Investigators said Pushpalatha was projected as a senior GHMC official capable of facilitating house allotments, leading victims to believe the claims.

To convince applicants, the accused supplied forged government allotment certificates, creating the impression that houses had already been sanctioned. Police said the victims waited for nearly three years before realising they had been cheated.

The case was registered at Alwal police Station on May 20 based on a complaint lodged by Gogikar Prasad. During the investigation, police found that Pushpalatha and Vishal played a key role in preparing and distributing the forged certificates while Mahender Singh assisted in designing and printing the fake documents at his photocopy centre.

Officials said the prime accused, Jayaraj Gangadharan, along with Nisha Raj, Chintu Raj and a rubber stamp business in Ranigunj, are absconding. Efforts are under way to trace them.

Police urged the public not to pay money to individuals claiming they can secure government benefits, including housing, jobs, land allotments or welfare schemes, and advised citizens to verify such claims with the concerned government department before making any payments.