The police in Hyderabad on Saturday arrested socialite Shilpa Chowdary and her husband Tella Krishna Srinivas Prasad in connection with a multi-crore cheating case.
The couple allegedly cheated some people promising them high interest on their investments into real estate business.
Shilpa Chowdary (46), whose real name is Tella Shilpa, and Prasad (56) were arrested after a case was registered against them at the Narsingi police station under the Cyberabad Police Commissionerate.
A woman had lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that Shilpa was not returning her Rs 1.05 crore, which she had given a year ago for investment in real estate business.
According to the police, the woman was a friend of Shilpa and used to attend kitty parties hosted by the latter. The complainant told the police that Shilpa was not responding to her calls or text messages. The accused also allegedly threatened her and her family members by employing bouncers.
The police arrested the couple and questioned them. They also checked their bank accounts as part of the investigations.
The police are conducting further investigations, as the couple is suspected to have cheated some others promising them high returns on their investments.
A police officer said that as per their own statements, the couple had taken Rs 5-6 crore from some people.
After learning about the arrest of the couple, 2-3 women approached the police with complaints against Shilpa.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, M. Venkateshwarlu, said they will interrogate the couple to gather more information about those who had given them money for investments.
Eminent individuals, including those from film industry, are suspected to be the victims of the couple's misdeeds. Most of the victims are said to be those who used to attend Shilpa's kitty parties.
The police also learnt during the preliminary investigations that Shipla produced a Telugu movie, but it could not be released due to some dispute.