Hyderabad: A three-member gang, who pretended to be realtors, allegedly robbed Rs 1.75 lakh from a trader by offering him a piece of land at Kukatpally.

KPHB police said the trio stole the money when the victim brought cash to pay advance. The suspects are Lakshmi Prasad, Venkat Reddy and Venkanna, all residents of Sangareddy.

“The trio targeted one Chalama Reddy, a resident of KPHB, who was trying to buy a plot. They showed him around and arranged a meeting at the Manjeera Shopping Mall,” said KPHB inspector Kushalkar.

The victim arrived with the cash which was supposed to be paid to them as advance, but felt suspicious about the document verification process and refused to pay at that time. During the conversation, Lakshmi Prasad slipped his hand into Chalama Reddy’s bag and stole Rs 1.75 lakh.

Based on a complaint by Mr Reddy, KPHB police lodged a case against the trio under Section 379 (theft) and 420 (cheating) of IPC and nabbed them from the Forum Mall on Friday. They were remanded to custody.