BHUBANESWAR: The Crime Branch of Odisha Police has arrested two West Bengal natives, including a woman, for allegedly duping a doctor of a whopping Rs 6.04 crore by luring him to invest in the share market on the promise of receiving high returns.
The accused have been identified as Ashok Nanda (53) of Siliguri and Jayarani Basak (38) of Kolkata. Police said Ashok runs a hotel business. The duo was arrested recently and are being brought to Odisha.
The agency had registered a case in this connection in January this year after receiving complaint from the victim who is a doctor by profession. As per the complaint, the victim had come in contact with the fraudsters through Telegram and WhatsApp groups.
He had transferred over Rs 6.04 crore from eight bank accounts operated by him and his associates in 3.5 months. He had deposited the entire money in 22 different bank accounts, CB officers said.
During investigation, CB found that the fraudsters had further transferred the money to other bank accounts and had then withdrawn it using cheques and ATMs.
“The cyber fraudsters had assured the complainant that he would receive hefty returns through investments in initial public offering and over-the-counter tradings but they later swindled his money. While Ashok had directly received around Rs 1.11 crore in his bank account, around Rs 6 lakh was found to have been transferred to Jayarani’s account by Ashok,” said a CB officer. Mobile phones, SIM cards, PAN and Aadhaar cards of the duo have been seized, he added.
In a similar case in March this year, CB had arrested seven inter-state cyber criminals, including a woman, for allegedly defrauding a sitting MLA and former minister in the previous BJD government of Rs 1.40 crore. CB cautioned the citizens to be aware of unsolicited investment offers on social media and messaging apps and always verify before investing through suspicious platforms.