ROURKELA: The Cyber Crime and Economic Offences police in Sundargarh has arrested a couple for their alleged involvement in duping a town resident of Rs 1.26 crore in an investment fraud.
The accused Abinash Grahacharya (42) and his wife Indulekha Ojha (40) belong to Berhampur village in Balasore district. They were arrested on Saturday from Baripada in Mayurbhanj and produced in court on Sunday.
Sundargarh ASP Santa Nutan Samad said the victim lodged a complaint on April 17 alleging the couple had cheated him and his wife of a total Rs 1.26 crore on the promise of high interest and substantial growth over their investment.
Basing on the complaint, a case was registered under sections 318(2), 318(4) and 3(5) of the BNS and investigation launched. During probe, police found that the accused couple had earlier cheated several gullible people in the same way.
The couple had also founded a company named My Digital Locker Solution Pvt Ltd (MDLSPL) in Bhubaneswar to cheat investors. The accused had come in contact with the victim in August, 2024 during which they persuaded him to invest his money to get lucrative returns, said the ASP.
“Accordingly, the victim and his wife transferred Rs 77.86 lakh and Rs 45.60 lakh in phases, totalling Rs 1.26 crore to the company. When the victim failed to get the promised returns, he realised he had been cheated and lodged a complaint,” Samad said.
During the course of investigation, police arrested the couple from Baripada. Multiple bank passbooks, cheque books, identity and financial documents of the accused persons, among other incriminating documents were seized from them, said the ASP.
“Further investigation is underway to ascertain other victims and the amount collected from them by the couple, trace the money trail, ascertain involvement of other persons and recover the cheated amount,” she added.
Incidentally, a cyber fraudster Zubair Khan (26) of Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh has been arrested and produced in court for his alleged involvement in cheating the Govindam Projects Pvt Ltd (GPPL) at Sundargarh of Rs 1.85 crore through a Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud. Police managed to recover over Rs 1.14 crore and restored it in the bank account of the company.