Cuttack: Two employees of the Odisha government have been arrested for duping a rape survivor of over Rs one lakh from the compensation money.
The arrested persons have been identified as Sangita Singh of Chakraprasad in Narsinghpur area of the district, who is currently living at Ranpur, and Amiya Kumar Sahoo of Odapainga village in Jagatsinghpur district, now staying at KGB Kalpataru in Khurda (UPD Bhubaneswar).
Police said they have also seized four mobile phones, screenshots of WhatsApp chats and internet banking/Yono Banking transactions of both the accused persons.
The rape survivor had lodged a written complaint at Lalbag Police Station alleging that Sangita Singh and others cheated her of Rs 1.1 lakh from the compensation sanctioned by the government as per court order.
The police initiated an investigation into the matter by registering a criminal case. The investigation was conducted under the direct supervision of the DCP, Cuttack.
Investigation showed that the complainant was entitled to compensation as a victim of a heinous offence and the money was to be sanctioned from the office of the District Welfare Officer, Collectorate Cuttack.
Accused Amiya Kumar Sahoo was working as a DEO and Office Assistant in this office. He conspired with Sangita Singh and others to extort illegal gratification from the victim’s sanctioned compensation.
Sangita Singh is employed as a PET at Janata Nodal Bidyapitha, Poda Diha, under Begunia Block. With a premeditated plan, she shared the victim’s details with their syndicate, and identified herself as an employee of the Collectorate.
Sangita asked the victim to pay Rs 1.1 lakh from the sanctioned amount, or else they would deduct the same from it. Feeling helpless, the victim transferred the amount in three separate transactions to two different PhonePe numbers. The accused then avoided her and ultimately misappropriated the duped amount.
While Sangita Singh was arrested on Sunday and forwarded to court, Amiya Sahoo was taken into custody on Monday and will be produced before the court.
