PARADIP: The Paradip Model Police, on Sunday, arrested a fraudster who had allegedly been posing as an intelligence officer or crime branch officer to extort money from unsuspecting persons. Police were on the lookout for the accused Baroda Sudhir from Hyderabad for defrauding a local journalist Sukadev Jena last year.
After reaching Paradip, Sudhir befriended Jena giving his identity as an intelligence officer. In a day or two, he asked Jena to arrange a car for him for his travel and also got Jena’s son to book a flight ticket to Kolkata for him. However, once the arrangements were made, Sudhir suddenly disappeared. Subsequently, Jena filed an FIR against Sudhir. On September 7, 2022, Paradip Model Police registered a case against Sudhir under sections 419 and 480 of IPC for deceiving Jena and his son. However, the police were unable to locate and apprehend Sudhir.
On September 15, 2023 Sudhir resurfaced in Paradip and checked into a hotel as a CB official. The next day, he shifted to another hotel in Paradip town and ordered breakfast at its restaurant. When the bill was given to him, he asked the hotel staff to add the bill to room number 202 for payment. In the meantime, he had asked the hotel staff to book a car to Athagarh and Bhubaneswar for official work.
The hotel employees grew suspicious when they checked that Sudhir had not checked into any room in the hotel, police said. They sensed something was amiss and informed the police, who reached and detained him at the police station for further questioning. During interrogation, Sudhir admitted to his crime and also involvement in cheating the journalist. On the day, Sudhir was arrested and presented before court.