JEYPORE: The special task force (STF) of Odisha Police on Friday arrested a person, who claimed to be an RTI activist, on charges of cheating and impersonation. The accused was identified as Kishore Kumar Mishra of Berhampur. Police have detected transactions of crores of rupees in his bank accounts.
STF sources said Mishra duped several people in Koraput by posing as an RTI activist and showing a fake identity card from the Information & Public Relations (I&PR) department. In April this year, Koraput Town police detained Mishra and suo motu registered a case against him under sections 419, 420, 465, 470, 471 and 34 of the IPC. He was later released after being issued notice and a warning.
Later, the accused came under the radar of the STF which believed that he might be linked to an organised crime network. During the investigation, the STF found that Mishra was cheating people with false identity and by assuring them that he has close proximity to VVIPs and top government officials. He even took money from people to provide them with licenses and facilitate transfers from different government departments.
Initial investigation revealed that Mishra was a member of a larger group involved in cheating, thuggery and impersonation. The group duped people by using mule bank accounts including accounts of dead persons. They saved their phone numbers in the names of senior government officers to trick people into trusting them after verifying the numbers on the ‘Truecaller’ app.
Sources said over Rs 2 crore has been credited to Mishra’s bank accounts in the last two to three years. An STF officer said the accused will be produced in Koraput SDJM court and further investigation is underway.