BARGARH: Bhatli police on Tuesday arrested a couple for allegedly duping a man of Rs 6.5 lakh on the pretext of providing him a clerical job in the Roads and Buildings (R&B) division of Sambalpur.
The accused are Makardhwaja Bhoi (47) and his wife Kuntala Kuanar (43) of Dumalpali village. They were arrested after the complainant, Kangali Charan Behera of Dasamanapatana village in Dhenkanal district, lodged a complaint with Bhatli police on Tuesday.
Basing on the complaint, police registered a case registered under sections 318 (2), 319 (2), 351 (2), 111 (3) and 3 (5) of BNS and arrested the couple. Around Rs 9,080 cash, passbooks of different banks and a mobile phone were seized from their possession.
Police said Bhoi, a peon in the R&B Division office of Sambalpur, came in contact with Behera during a marriage reception at Ambabhona in May this year. Posing as an executive engineer of R&B Division, he lured Behera with the promise of providing him a clerical job in the department in exchange for money.
Bhoi reportedly demanded Rs 6.5 lakh from Behera. Initially, Behera handed him Rs 1.20 lakh cash. The accused kept delaying the appointment and insisted that the full amount be paid at once. He asked Behera to pay the remaining amount through PhonePe on her wife’s number. After Behera paid the money, Bhoi stopped responding, said police.
Bargarh sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) PB Tripathy said the accused had bought a car and drove it to the reception where he first met the complainant. Looking at the car and his mannerisms, Behera was convinced by whatever he said and ended up giving him the money. “After the victim lodged a complaint, police conducted a raid to nab the couple. However, they were not present at their home. We traced them to an acquaintance’s place and arrested them,” he added.
Further investigation is underway to ascertain if more people have been duped by the couple in a similar manner, police said.