Two second-year engineering students of SRM University-AP, Amaravati, allegedly duped several fellow students by promising high returns on investments and campus placements in private companies. The police have launched an investigation acting on several complaints in this reagard.

Mangalagiri Rural Police Station SI Chirumamilla Venkateswarlu on Thursday told The Hindu that two students, identified as P. Vijay Narasimha and E. Varun Sai, allegedly collected nearly ₹1 crore from their fellow students from the university by promising lucrative returns on investments and employment by the time they completed their four-year engineering courses.

The police said that the duo had reportedly repaid a portion of the money as returns to some students who had initially invested after believing their claims.

Mr. Venkateswarlu said police were verifying the bank accounts of the accused, tracing financial transactions, and gathering more information. A portion of the amount had also been recovered from the accused, he said.

According to the police, the accused were not from affluent backgrounds but allegedly projected themselves as wealthy before their fellow students.

Meanwhile, the university authorities confirmed that it had constituted a disciplinary committee to inquire into the allegations and that an internal investigation was in progress. The university has so far identified five victims and summoned both the students and their parents for inquiry.

The university stated that appropriate and stringent action would be taken based on the recommendations of the disciplinary committee.