Hyderabad, Aug 5 (Reporter) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested V Chalapathi Rao, a proclaimed offender (PO) in a bank fraud case, who had been evading capture by frequently changing his identity and locations. The CBI registered the case on May 1, 2002, against Rao, a former computer operator at SBI Chandulal Baradari Branch, Hyderabad. Rao was accused of cheating SBI out of Rs. 50 lakh by using fabricated quotations from electronic shops and fake salary certificates created in the names of his family members and close associates. The CBI filed two chargesheets (CC Nos. 8 & 9/2006) on December 31, 2004, upon completing the investigation. Rao had been missing since 2004. His wife, who is also an accused in the fraud case, lodged an FIR at Kamatipura Police Station (Cr. No. 97/2004) on July 10, 2004. She later filed a petition in the Civil Court to declare Rao dead after he had been missing for seven years. A decree was passed by the Civil Court of Hyderabad to this effect. Due to Rao’s prolonged absence, the case against him was split, and he was declared a proclaimed offender on April 18, 2013, after the completion of proceedings under Sections 82 & 83 Cr.PC. During the investigation, Rao’s wife obtained a stay from the High Court of Telangana to prevent the attachment of his property. Despite numerous efforts to evade capture, including changing locations, contact numbers, and identity, the CBI relentlessly pursued leads and finally apprehended him from a village in Tamil Nadu. According to the CBI, Rao fled to Salem and married a woman in 2007, changing his name to M. Vineet Kumar and obtaining an Aadhaar number. Through his second wife, the CBI learned that Rao was in contact with his son from his first marriage. However, in 2014, he left Salem and moved to Bhopal, where he worked as a loan recovery agent, and later to Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, where he worked at a school. When the CBI team attempted to trace him in Rudrapur, they discovered he had fled in 2016. Using email IDs and Aadhaar details under the name M. Vineet Kumar, the CBI sought assistance from Gmail's Law Enforcement Department. This led them to an Ashram in Verul village, Aurangabad, where Rao had assumed the identity of Swamy Vidhitatmanand Teertha and obtained a new Aadhaar card. However, he left the Ashram in December 2021 after allegedly defrauding it of approximately Rs. 70 lakh. Rao then moved to Bharatpur, Rajasthan, as Vidhitatmanand Teertha and stayed there until July 8, 2024. He subsequently moved to Tirunelveli to stay with one of his disciples. During this period, Rao changed his contact numbers more than 8-10 times and was planning to escape to Sri Lanka by sea. The CBI’s continuous efforts culminated in Rao's arrest on August 4, 2024, from Narasinganallur village, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, where he was hiding. The well-coordinated and strategic efforts of the CBI team led to the apprehension of Rao, who had been evading law enforcement for nearly two decades. He was produced before the Special Judge for CBI Cases in Hyderabad on August 4, 2024, and was remanded to judicial custody until August 16, 2024. The trial will commence henceforth, according to a CBI statement on Monday...////...