Sambalpur: Two sisters and their brother have been arrested by the Cyber Police in Odisha’s Sambalpur for allegedly defrauding a bank official of Rs 25 lakh by using a fake Facebook identity and promising to double his money.
The arrested siblings have been identified as Rajkumari Badi (24), Jharana Badi (32), and their brother Rajesh Badi (38). Originally natives of Babupada in Jharsuguda, the three were staying in a rented accommodation at Sainpali under the Ainthapali police limits.
Sambalpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo said the siblings learned various deception techniques directly from YouTube videos.
The investigation was initiated following a complaint filed in June 2026 by Lipak Kumar Pradhan, a Raurkela branch manager for Bharti AXA Life Insurance.
According to police, the accused befriended the victim using a fake Facebook profile under the name ‘Disha Agrawal’. After building trust over chat, they claimed they possessed a specialised machine capable of doubling currency notes. To convince the victim, they arranged a live demo of the money-doubling procedure at a local hotel in Sambalpur. Convinced by the demonstration, the victim withdrew Rs 25 lakh from a home loan and met the trio at a hotel in Anugola.
Using identical bags, the accused distracted the victim under the pretext of retrieving a forgotten USB drive and motorcycle keys, swapped the bag containing the cash, and fled the venue.
Following the complaint, Sambalpur Cyber Police registered a case and launched an investigation led by a Cyber DSP and Inspector. The team located and arrested the three suspects from Jharsuguda.
Police recovered Rs 15.80 lakh in cash alongside gold ornaments valued at approximately Rs 12 lakh, which had been purchased using the defrauded funds or redeemed from Muthoot Finance.
Preliminary investigation showed that the gang had previously cheated another individual in Rourkela of Rs 10 lakh using similar methods. Further investigation by the police is underway.
