BERHAMPUR: Boudh police on Monday night arrested a constable for allegedly duping several cops of lakhs of rupees by promising them bank loans.
The accused is Hrudananda Behera (43), a constable in Boudh Model police station.
Boudh SP Rahul Goel said the case came to light after Pradeep Tripathy, a home guard attached to the Model police station, lodged a complaint on Sunday. Tripathy alleged that Behera had taken around Rs 10 lakh from him in monthly instalments of Rs 10,000 over several years, promising to arrange a bank loan. Behera also took custody of Tripathy’s ATM card, bank passbook, chequebook and other documents.
Last week, Tripathy discovered that a loan had been sanctioned in his name and credited to his account. However, in absence of his ATM card and other documents, he could not know that the loan amount had already been withdrawn. Finding the money missing from his account, he confronted Behera and demanded a refund of both the instalments and the loan amount. However, Behera allegedly threatened him.
As Behera was a local and had considerable influence in the police department, Tripathy initially remained silent. However, after the constable was transferred to Janhaoanka outpost, the victim lodged a complaint with the police.
The SP said acting on Tripathy’s complaint, police registered a case and started investigation. At around 10 pm on Monday, police raided Behera’s residence in Podapada and arrested him. During the raid, police recovered over `5 lakh in cash and seized 60 bank passbooks, 43 ATM cards, 29 chequebooks, and 209 blank cheques. In addition, 11 property sale deeds, 145 gram of gold and an undisclosed quantity of silver were seized.
During interrogation, Behera reportedly confessed to the crime and revealed that he had extorted money from Tripathy and several other police personnel by using intimidation tactics and offering hand loans.
Goel said the accused was produced in court on Tuesday. He was placed under suspension, and departmental proceedings have been initiated against him.
Sources revealed that Behera had previously served as a treasury officer at the SP’s office. During this period, he allegedly exploited his position to deceive Tripathy and others.