Popular Vizag influencer ‘Local Boy Nani’ arrested for promoting online betting apps

Visakhapatnam Cyber Crime Police on 22 February 2025 (Saturday) arrested social media influencer Vasupalli Nani and his friends for promoting online betting.

The incident occurred after Vasupalli Nani created a video promoting betting apps on his Instagram and YouTube channels. This led many of his young followers to invest huge sums of money in these illegal applications, and they encountered big losses. After that, the public filed several complaints against Nani and his allies.

Vasupalli Nani goes by the alias ‘Local Boy Nani’ online and is a renowned influencer with more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube, most of whom are teenagers. As per reports, Nani made a video on applications that promise low investment and high returns, which lured his audience to invest large sums of money. According to early police reports, the total losses could exceed Rs 2 crores.

Following this unrest, the Visakhapatnam Commissioner of Police, Shankhabrata Bagchi, has said that they are monitoring the situation carefully and the police are investigating more such illegal promotions made by Vizag-based influencers. 

He also said that there are going to be strict implications for influencers who endorse such illegal applications and warned the citizens of Vizag not to fall for these money traps.

Read also: 102kg of marijuana worth approximately Rs 20 lakh was seized

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