HYDERABAD: "I am suffering from a dreadful disease and require Rs. 35,000 for medical treatment. If you fail to arrange the money and instead inform the police, I'll torch your house... " thus reads the letter.

Such letters dropped at the doorsteps of four higher middle class houses in Saroornagar in past three months are perplexing the police and leaving locals in a state of fear.

Not just content of the letters, but the manner in which an anonymous person prepared them is baffling everyone. The letters were neither typed nor handwritten but composed using newspaper cuttings.

"The invisible man selected words — and sometimes individual letters — that appeared in Telugu newspapers, cut them and pasted on a white paper," Saroornagar Inspector M. Chandrashekhar explained. Even more peculiar was the style of tying two plastic covers filled with petrol either to the windows or doors of the house.

"If you fail to give the money or inform this to the police, I will set afire your house after dousing it with more petrol or blow up your kitchen," the letters say.

Interestingly, all the four house owners are fairly well off. The unseen man asked them to keep the money in a ditch located on the National Highway to Vijayawada (240 km mark stone) near a petrol bunk at Choutuppal. He stated that he would collect the cash as per his convenience.

The first letter was dropped on September 1 at a house in Gaddiannaram and three more subsequently at Laxminagar (November 13), Vijayapuri Colony (November 23) and Vasavi Colony (December 5).

The unidentified person even sprinkled lime on cars and two-wheelers — apparently to scare the inmates — parked inside the house.

In one of the houses, he tore the seat covers of a vehicle. The police booked a case under Sections 444 (trespass), 384 (extortion) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

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