Bank Manager Arrested For Duping Customers Of Rs 45 Lakh In Odisha’s Berhampur

Berhampur: Manager of a private bank was arrested by the police in Odisha’s Berhampur for allegedly duping customers of over Rs 45 lakh by promising them high investment returns.

Sources said the accused, identified as Epili Mithun (35), worked as the manager of ICICI Bank’s Gosaninuagaon branch in Berhampur. Police arrested him on Tuesday on charges of defrauding three individuals while serving as the manager of the bank’s Dharmanagar branch in 2023.

Chandan Padhy (38), M Devi Prasad (42) and Sandeep Sahu (38) of Berhampur had availed loans from Dharmanagar branch when Mithun was the manager. After gaining their trust, the accused lured the customers to invest money in multiple gift card schemes including loyalty programmes and Forex and Petro cards schemes by promising them high returns. The trio reportedly invested around Rs 45.5 lakh in the schemes.

In the meantime, the accused was transferred to Gosaninuagaon branch. When Mithun failed to return their money despite repeated requests, the victims became suspicious. They arrived at Gosaninuagaon branch and urged him to return their money. However, Mithun reportedly threatened to file a harassment case against them.

Subsequently, the victims lodged a complaint against Mithun in Berhampur Town police station. During investigation, police found that the accused had taken Rs 16.5 lakh through credit cards and Rs 29 lakh in cash from the victims.

Several documents including details of credit card transactions have been seized from the accused. Further investigation is underway, Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said.