Hyderabad: Gachibowli police arrested a 55-year-old real estate businessman for allegedly obtaining at least five Indian passports since 1997 under different names and dates of birth. The accused had travelled to 46 countries using the passports. The fraud came to light during scrutiny by US consulate staff when he applied for a visa in Dec 2025. The consulate lodged a complaint with Gachibowli police in March 2026.The accused, Mothukpalli Lakshmikanth Reddy, a resident of Kokapet, applied for a non-immigrant US visa on Dec 8, 2025. He submitted an Indian passport showing his date of birth as Aug 9, 1971. Reddy declared that he was the founder & CEO of a realty company on Road No. 4, Banjara Hills, and also stated that he had served as MD of a city-based infra and mining company from 2008 to 2021.During routine verification of visa records, consulate staff found that Reddy had earlier applied for US visas under multiple identities, using different names, dates of birth and passports. In 1997, Reddy applied for H1B visa from Quebec under the name ‘Middannola Laxmikanth’ using one passport. Using another passport under the name ‘Medha Prasoon Kumar Reddy’, he applied for H1B visa from Delhi in 1999 and from Chennai in 2003, 2004, 2006.Using a third passport under the name ‘Medha Prasoonkumar Reddy’, he applied for B1/B2 visa from Chennai in 2009. Using a fourth passport in his original name, he applied for B1/B2 visa in Dec 2025. When consulate staff called him for an interview, he submitted another passport bearing his original name. The consulate’s Overseas Criminal Investigations (OCI) team has provided Gachibowli police with copies of the two latest passports furnished by him while lodging a complaint.Police registered a case under relevant sections of the BNS and the Indian Passport Act. After obtaining further details from the regional passport office and the US consulate, Gachibowli police arrested the accused on Friday. During the preliminary probe, the accused confessed to police that he had lived in USA between 1994 and 1997, operating a private business, and he had last travelled to USA in 2008.“We have seized documents related to multiple passports and electronic devices, including an iPhone and iPad. The accused will be produced before the court for remand. We will write to the Bureau of Immigration and the passport office to obtain details of his travel records. The accused will also be taken into custody to find out who has helped him in obtaining multiple passports using false details,” Gachibowli Inspector K Saidulu said.
