BERHAMPUR: Baidyanathpur police in Berhampur on Tuesday arrested five persons for duping two traders of Rs 18 lakh with counterfeit currency.
The accused are Badrinath Panda, Akshya Nayak, Bhabani Pattanaik, Ramachandra Panda and Nibash Nahak, all from Ganjam district.
Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said one Surya Narayan Patra, the owner of an ice factory, lodged a complaint with police alleging that Badrinath promised him and his friend Sachin Mahapatra, another businessman, to invest Rs 9 lakh each and get back double the amount within one week. Believing him, the duo arranged Rs 18 lakh.
On November 10, Badrinath asked them to come to Kamapalli over-bridge with the cash. When the duo reached the spot, Badrinath collected the cash from them and put it in a bag. The three of them proceeded on the road in front of DPS school near Lanjipalli in Badrinath’s car.
Suddenly, Akshya and two other persons entered the vehicle holding a bag identical to the one carried by Badrinath. They started to talk about the transaction. After some time, the trio alighted from the car and took away the bag containing the cash. Later, Surya and Sachin opened the bag and shocked to find fake currency notes in it. On being confronted, Badrinath expressed his ignorance and assured to bring the money from the trio.
When Badrinath failed to bring the money back, Surya lodged a complaint with police. The SP said a case was registered and during investigation, police arrested Badrinath and four of his accomplices. Probe is underway to verify the involvement of others in the racket.