SAMBALPUR: Sambalpur police busted three fraudsters’ attempt to recreate the Akshay Kumar blockbuster ‘Special 26’ in real life by enlisting youths in a fake agency which they called the ‘Raid Action Wing’ (RAW).
Two of them, identified as Satyaranjan Sahu (43) of Remuna in Balasore and Shivnayan Seth (23) of VSS Colony within Hirakud police limits of Sambalpur, have been arrested. Mastermind of the racket, identified as Sukanta Kumar Ratha of Gajapati district, is at large and being pursued by the police.
Sambalpur SP Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo said the accused posed as officers of the fake organisation ‘Raid Action Wing’ and targeted educated youth in search of jobs. They lured the victims of Central government job in the fake agency and asked them to complete tasks as probationers to secure permanent posting in the organisation after collecting certain fees from them.
The accused issued ID cards and authorisation letters on a fake letterhead with Government of India and RAW logo along with ‘International Organisation Against Crime and Corruption’ printed on it. The youth were asked to raid excise shops and narcotics hideouts and seize items and hand them over to the accused. They had duped as many as six youths in the district, Bhamoo said.
Police said the organisation was formed by Ratha and Sahu who posed as state director general and state in-charge of the organisation, with its headquarters at Chandragiri within Mohana police limits of Gajapati district. Seth was appointed as the district special officer of Sambalpur and given the task of recruiting youth as officers.
Eventually, Seth carried out recruitment activities in May and June and hired six youths as officers of the agency after collecting Rs 2,200 to Rs 4,100 for processing their recruitment applications. The fraud was busted after police came to know about the activities by the youth duped by the accused.
While Sahu was arrested from Balasore, Seth was nabbed from Hirakud. A manhunt has been launched to nab Ratha. “We are also investigating to ascertain if the accused committed similar crimes in any other district,” the SP said.
Sahu is involved in more than 10 cases of cheating across Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Bhubaneswar and Ganjam which are also under investigation, he added.
During investigation, police seized letterheads, appointment letters, seizure lists, stamp pads and other articles. The accused have been booked under sections 336(3), 336(4), 319(2), 318(4), 308(6), 3(5) of BNS besides 66D of IT act and produced before a court.