CUTTACK: The Cyber Crime police on Monday arrested a former Army personnel on charges of cheating several people across the state of Rs 20 crore by luring them to register in a mobile application named Huge App.
The accused, identified as Partha Sarathi Das, was staying in Rajendra Nagar area of Badambadi in Cuttack. A native of Sahada in Balasore’s Chandipur, he was working as the head of the Huge App office at New LIC Colony in Badambadi.
As per the Cyber Crime police, on August 28, one Mirza Adil Beg of Kadam Rasul lodged a complaint alleging he along with 200 others had been defrauded of a total amount of Rs 33 lakh by being lured to register in the app and depositing money.
As per his complaint, they were promised daily return of Rs 200 each on a minimum investment of Rs 5,500 and giving five-star rating to the videos posted on the app besides additional incentives for persuading more people to invest.
Some people, who initially invested, received returns and upon their persuasion, others joined in. On August 15, the members were supposed to receive their money but were informed that they will have to deposit an additional Rs 4,950 towards annual maintenance charges (AMC).
However, after collecting the funds, Das shut down the firm at Badambadi and also closed the app on August 19, leaving investors in a lurch, the complaint stated.
Basing on the complaint, a case was registered at the Cyber Crime and Economic Offence police station and a special team constituted to investigate the case. Das was nabbed from his native place in Chandipur.
He has been brought to Cuttack for being produced in court. Around Rs 2.51 lakh in his bank account has been frozen besides cash of Rs 68,000, three mobile phones and a HUGE Marketing Ltd authorisation certificate seized from his possession.
“Efforts are on to trace his associates and assess the full scale of the fraud. The EOW is coordinating with the Cyber Crime police to recover evidence and safeguard the interests of the victims,” said a senior police officer.