Politico held for cheating

Prasad claimed he had contacts in TS departments

A former Assembly election candidate was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly cheating a businessman of `15 lakh by promising to get him government clearances for his ventures.

The arrested man, Kantamaneni Rajendra Prasad, 69, of Gandhinagar, who had contested the Assembly polls on a Congress tick- et in 1986, claimed that he was close to the adviser on policies and institutional development and cheated the victim.

Police arrested Prasad on Tuesday after booking a case against him for cheating. The victim, V.B.G. Tilak, a realtor, had alleged that Prasad had duped him saying that he had close friends in government.

“The victim was facing cases and had to get clearances for his ventures. Rajendra Prasad told him that he was close to the adviser on policies and institutional development of the TS government and would be able to solve his problems. He took `15 lakh from the victim but did not keep the promise,” said inspector B. Mohan Kumar. He added that Rajendra Prasad did not have contacts in government departments.

Hailing from the Amudala Lanka village in Guntur district, Rajendra Prasad had been living in Hyderabad since 1969. In 1986, he contested the Assembly polls from Repalle, He is not politically active now.

Preliminary investigations indicated that Prasad had cheated some other people too in a similar manner. He was produced before court on Tuesday.