CUTTACK: Choudwar police on Friday arrested a 37-year-old woman for allegedly duping a man of Rs 30 lakh on the pretext of providing lucrative returns on his investment.
The accused, Bishnupriya Samantaray, native of Ichhapur under Balikuda police limits in Jagatsinghpur, lived at Batabhudhi colony in Choudwar.
Police said Samantaray advised the complainant, Asit Kumar Mohapatra, an LIC Housing Finance agent residing in Choudwar’s Agrahat locality, to invest in money-lending business on the pretext of attractive returns.
Mohapatra initially invested a small amount and received good returns. Subsequently, the accused continued persuading him to invest larger sum of money with assurance of higher profits.
Believing her, Mohapatra transferred lakhs of rupees in phases to the accused. However, when he demanded that his invested money be returned, the accused paid only a part of it and failed to repay the remaining amount.
Subsequently, Mohapatra lodged a police complaint on December 17, 2025.
“During the course of investigation, it came to light that Mohapatra had invested a total of Rs 90 lakh out of which the accused had returned Rs 60 lakh but failed to return the remaining Rs 30 lakh,” said a senior police officer.
The officer added that Samantaray was found to be involved in similar fraudulent activities in Choudwar and other areas in the past. Further investigation is underway, he said.