Bhubaneswar: Berhampur Police have arrested two fraudsters in connection with Rs 14 lakh digital arrest fraud, involving vice-chancellor (V-C) of Berhampur university Prof Geetanjali Dash.
Addressing a presser, Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M on Saturday the two were nabbed from Gujarat and a detailed probe is underway. “We had sent a small team to Gujarat, which conducted further investigation after reaching there. Following which, the two were arrested. They operated mule accounts. We have been able to elicit some clues from them. Efforts are on to nab the main accused in the case,” he said.
The SP said that this gang is involved in several other cases across the country. “We found transactions worth more than Rs 2 crore in their accounts,” he added.
The arrests come exactly a month after the V-C received a phone call on February 12 from someone claiming to be an ED officer, who then put her under ‘digital arrest’ for four days and demanded Rs 14 lakh for her release. She was told that her Aadhaar number and bank accounts reflected in one of the hawala transactions. The fraudster, claiming to be members of a Supreme Court-monitored investigation team, called up her at a fixed time slot and coerced her to pay Rs 14 lakh.
Prof Dash who ended up paying the amount through a cheque, however, grew suspicious when the fraudster became incommunicado later She then lodged a complaint with the cyber police on February 24.
