Tirupati: A 23-year-old conman from Karnataka who posed as an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer has been arrested by Santhapeta police in Nellore district for attempting to deceive locals and temple officials under the guise of resolving land disputes.

The accused, Rampur Ramesh from Raichur district, first contacted a local resident named Venkataramana, claiming he was an IRS officer capable of mediating a land dispute for ₹2 lakh. Ramesh arrived in Nellore on June 3 but failed to reach Venkataramana, who stopped responding to his calls.

Undeterred, Ramesh visited the Talpagiri Ranganatha Swamy temple on June 4 and introduced himself to temple executive officer (EO) Alla Srinivasulu Reddy as an IRS officer on deputation. He claimed he was assigned to address tax and land disputes and requested access to temple documents. Initially trusting him, the EO shared scanned copies of disputed land records.

To reinforce his bluff, Ramesh even used a car to impersonate a government official. Later that day, he called the EO, asking for a personal meeting to further discuss the temple’s land issues. Sensing something was off, the EO verified with government officials and confirmed no IRS officer named Rampur Ramesh was posted in Nellore.

Alerted, Santhapeta police led by CI G Dasaradha Rama Rao arrested Ramesh near Aditya Nagar. Police recovered fake IDs, a car, and two mobile phones from his possession. He has been remanded to judicial custody.