BERHAMPUR: Berhampur police on Tuesday arrested the manager of a private bank for allegedly duping customers of over Rs 45 lakh by promising them high investment returns.
The accused, identified as Epili Mithun (35), worked as the manager of ICICI Bank’s Gosaninuagaon branch in Berhampur. He was arrested on charges of defrauding three individuals while serving as the manager of the bank’s Dharmanagar branch in 2023.
Police sources said Chandan Padhy (38), M Devi Prasad (42) and Sandeep Sahu (38) of Berhampur had availed loans from Dharmanagar branch when Mithun was the manager. After gaining their trust, the bank manager lured the customers to invest money in multiple gift card schemes including loyalty programmes and Forex and Petro cards schemes by promising them high returns. The trio reportedly invested around Rs 45.5 lakh in the schemes.
In the meantime, the accused was transferred to Gosaninuagaon branch. When Mithun failed to return their money despite repeated requests, the victims became suspicious. They arrived at Gosaninuagaon branch and urged him to return their money. However, Mithun reportedly threatened to file a harassment case against them.
Subsequently, the victims lodged a complaint against Mithun in Berhampur Town police station. During investigation, police found that the accused had taken `16.5 lakh through credit cards and `29 lakh in cash from the victims.
Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said police seized several incriminating documents including details of credit card transactions from the accused. Further investigation is underway.