2 held from Raj for duping Rourkela man of Rs 23L | Bhubaneswar News
Rourkela: Cyber crime police of Rourkela have arrested two men from Rajasthan for allegedly duping a resident of Rs 23 lakh through a sophisticated ‘digital arrest’ scam. The accused, identified as Mukesh Kumar Saini (21) and Harshit Sain (22) from Jaipur district, posed as Mumbai crime branch and CBI officers to extort money from the victim.
Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani said the fraud began on Aug 30, when the victim, Arun Kumar Mandal, received a call from an alleged courier service regarding a suspicious parcel. The caller claimed Mandal’s Aadhaar card was used to ship narcotics from Mumbai to China.
When Mandal attempted to report the matter to local police, the fraudsters, posing as Mumbai crime branch officers, initiated a video call. They convinced the victim of their authenticity and placed him under “digital arrest”, demanding Rs 20 lakh for his release. The victim later paid an additional Rs 3 lakh for “clearance”.
Following a complaint filed on Nov 26, a special team led by sub-inspectors Aditya Narayan Behera and Om Prakash Routray arrested the accused from Jodhpur and Jaipur. The suspects were brought to Odisha on transit remand after being produced before the ACJM court at Chomu, Jaipur.
Police recovered an iPhone with a SIM card and found the accused were operating as mule account holders facilitating the fraud. They have been booked under various sections of the BNS and IT Act, 2000.
SP Wadhwani said investigations are ongoing to identify and arrest 8-10 more suspects believed to be involved in the scam.
Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani said the fraud began on Aug 30, when the victim, Arun Kumar Mandal, received a call from an alleged courier service regarding a suspicious parcel. The caller claimed Mandal’s Aadhaar card was used to ship narcotics from Mumbai to China.
When Mandal attempted to report the matter to local police, the fraudsters, posing as Mumbai crime branch officers, initiated a video call. They convinced the victim of their authenticity and placed him under “digital arrest”, demanding Rs 20 lakh for his release. The victim later paid an additional Rs 3 lakh for “clearance”.
Following a complaint filed on Nov 26, a special team led by sub-inspectors Aditya Narayan Behera and Om Prakash Routray arrested the accused from Jodhpur and Jaipur. The suspects were brought to Odisha on transit remand after being produced before the ACJM court at Chomu, Jaipur.
Police recovered an iPhone with a SIM card and found the accused were operating as mule account holders facilitating the fraud. They have been booked under various sections of the BNS and IT Act, 2000.
SP Wadhwani said investigations are ongoing to identify and arrest 8-10 more suspects believed to be involved in the scam.
