SAMBALPUR: Sambalpur Police arrested one Nithin Kumar B (39) from Mangalore in Karnataka for purchasing gold ornament from a Bangalore-based MBA graduate who duped a jewellery shop owner of the district by posing as Income Tax officer. Nithin was brought to Sambalpur on Saturday.
Nithin’s involvement in the crime came to light after prime accused Vishal RN (26), an MBA graduate from Doddaballapur in Bangalore Rural, was arrested on April 11 following a fraud complaint by a jewellery shop owner of Sambalpur. During interrogation, Nithin revealed that he bought gold ornaments from Vishal. Four chains, three bracelets, and a ring weighing 131.98 gram were seized from him.
On March 30, Vishal purchased a gold bracelet and ring from a jewellery shop in Sambalpur by identifying himself as Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax. He asked the shop owner to furnish his bank details and phone number to send the amount to his account through NEFT.
After getting the details, Vishal showed a fake bank debit message of Rs 1,47,750 following which the shop owner handed over the jewellery. However, the jeweller later came to know of the fraud and lodged a complaint.
Vishal was nabbed in Bhubaneswar and brought to Sambalpur. SP B Gangadhar said the accused committed similar offences in Berhampur, Puri, Jharsuguda, Visakhapatnam, Hooghly (West Bengal), Chikmagalur (Karnataka) besides Vapi in Gujarat.