BHADRAK: Bhadrak Town police on Tuesday night arrested a 42-year-old man for allegedly cheating several people of more than Rs 1 crore by promising them government jobs and posing as the personal assistant (PA) of ministers.
The accused, Jagannath Bahalia of Chudakuti in Dhamnagar, had been staying in a rented house at Jagannathpur under Bhadrak Town police limits.
The accused allegedly used photographs with senior political leaders to convince educated unemployed youths that he had strong connections. Police said Bahalia claimed to have access to the chief minister, deputy chief minister, Education minister and even the prime minister’s personal secretary.
The alleged fraud came to light after Kishore Mohapatra, a retired government employee from Simulia in Balasore, lodged a complaint against him on Monday. Mohapatra alleged that Bahalia had taken `10 lakh from him on the promise of securing a railway job for his son and subsequently handed over a purported appointment letter.
“After receiving the complaint, we launched a search and nabbed the accused from Digha in West Bengal,” said Bhadrak Town IIC Prabhanshu Mishra.
Police said a diary recovered from the accused’ house contained details indicating financial transactions involving large sums of money. Police also recovered a number of documents and purported fake identity papers bearing photographs and names of ministers and their PAs.
Bahalia had allegedly collected over Rs 1 crore from several people by promising government jobs. The accused was produced in court.