Police in Nalgonda have arrested 14 people, including a job applicant, his mother, relatives and government employees, for allegedly fabricating a retired health department employee’s death date to secure a government job on compassionate grounds.
The arrests followed a complaint by Nalgonda municipal commissioner Vamsi Krishna, who reportedly found discrepancies in the records submitted for the appointment. The accused have been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Information Technology Act, Aadhaar Act and the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, police said. They were remanded in judicial custody.
Two other accused, identified as Rajashekar and Ravinder, are absconding, according to Nalgonda police. The case involves alleged coordination between relatives and employees of the municipal and medical and health departments to create records showing that a retired employee had died shortly before completing his service.
Police said Chamakuri Venkateswarlu, who worked as a health assistant at Shaligouraram primary health centre, retired on May 31, 2025. He actually died from kidney-related complications on November 17, 2025. However, the alleged fake death certificate recorded his date of death as May 28, 2025, three days before his retirement. That date would have made his son, Chamakuri Raju, eligible to seek a compassionate appointment.
According to Nalgonda superintendent of police Sharath Chandra Pawar, Raju allegedly planned the scheme during his father’s 10th-day death rituals on November 26, 2025. Police said relatives Chamakuri Rajashekar, an administrative officer, and Chamakuri Ravinder, a health assistant at Kethepally primary health centre, allegedly helped coordinate the plan with Venkateswarlu’s wife Vasantha, Raju and another relative, Rachakonda Venkateswarlu.
The alleged group is accused of approaching Pole Ranjith Kumar, a computer operator at the district medical and health officer’s office, and agreeing to pay Rs 13 lakh to accomplices to facilitate the appointment. The application was intended to secure Raju a posting at Damaracharla primary health centre.
Police said the accused first arranged for changes to Venkateswarlu’s Aadhaar address through a Mee Seva centre operated by Panasa Chandrasekhar. The altered records were allegedly then used to obtain the death certificate. Medical officer Dr Akula Krishna Surya Shilpa allegedly forwarded Raju’s application, while employees at the district medical and health officer’s office were accused of preparing false verification reports.
Municipal ward officer Mukka Muvva Shiva Janardhan and sanitary inspector N Pradeep Reddy were also allegedly involved in processing the certificate in violation of prescribed procedures, police said. Kattla Satish, identified as the deceased employee’s nephew, allegedly signed the relevant documents as a witness.
During the investigation, police seized Rs 5 lakh in cash, a computer, a printer, 12 mobile phones and a photograph of Venkateswarlu from the accused. The arrests and seizures form part of the police investigation into how records across identity, death registration and departmental appointment processes were allegedly coordinated. Further legal proceedings will follow as the case moves through judicial custody.
