Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Crime Branch has arrested one more accused in a Rs 1.08 crore online cricket betting scam.
The arrested person has been identified as Sugata Majumder (29), a resident of Sukantapally village in Nadia district of West Bengal. A science graduate with a degree in Zoology, he was reportedly working as a freelance video editor. Several incriminating materials, including mobile phones, SIM cards, and a hard disk, were seized from him.
Majumder was later produced before the OPID Court in Cuttack under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978, and the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (OPID) Act, 2011.
According to a press release issued by the Crime Branch, a resident of Kalinganagar area in Jajpur was allegedly duped by cyber fraudsters between August 2022 and January 2025 under the pretext of high returns through an online gaming and trading platform. Initially, the victim started paying small amounts of Rs 1,000 through UPI and he then got addicted to the game. He transferred Rs 1,08,79,420 from his account and several other accounts, including his wife, friends and staff, on being persuaded by fraudsters hoping that the money will be doubled and tripled.
When he later tried to withdraw his earnings, the fraudsters demanded additional payments and ultimately refused to release his funds. Realising the scam, he lodged an FIR at the Cyber police station on May 1.
Later that month, Sk Wasiul Islam (29) of West Bengal and Jyoti Prakash Pallai (36) of Unit-III in the city were arrested by the Crime Branch team led by deputy SP Anila Anand based on a detailed technical probe and digital surveillance. The duo was found to be operating fake gaming platforms and phishing websites. They were also stealing sensitive banking and personal data for opening mule bank accounts and transferring huge amounts in their accounts. Passbooks, mobile phones, SIM card, GST certificate, Aadhaar card and PAN card were seized from them.