Four brokers held for allegedly cheating applicants near Secunderabad passport office

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Four persons were arrested by the Malkajgiri Commissionerate’s Special Operations Team (SOT) for allegedly cheating passport applicants by falsely promising to expedite passport processing in exchange for money.

The accused were identified as Shivarathri Siddulu, 35, a passport broker from Addagutta, Thummala Venkatesh, 32, an online service provider, Varikuppala Aswin Kumar, 33, an online service provider, and Pallepu Deepak, 32, an auto driver from Alwal.

The case was registered at Market police station based on a complaint lodged by Shaheen Begum Sulthanaa.

According to the police, the complainant had applied for her grandson’s passport at the Regional Passport Office in Secunderabad in June 2025. As the application remained pending, she visited the office in November 2025 to enquire about its status.

Police said Siddulu and his associates allegedly approached her near the entrance of the passport office and claimed they could get the passport processed within a day. The group allegedly collected ₹6,000 from her after assuring her that they could expedite the process.

Investigators alleged that the accused also prevented her from proceeding further and falsely represented that they had the ability to influence passport clearances and approvals.

According to the complaint, when the woman contacted Siddulu again on June 4 regarding the status of the application, he allegedly demanded additional money and threatened that the passport process would not be completed if she failed to pay.

Following an investigation, SOT Malkajgiri Team-I apprehended the four accused. Police said Deepak had previously been involved in a cheating case registered at Market Police Station in 2023.

Investigators said the accused primarily targeted passport applicants whose applications were pending and induced them to part with money by falsely claiming they could secure faster approvals through their influence.

A case was registered under Sections 308, 316(2) and 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanh