EOW Arrests Two In Odisha: Posed As Govt Officials, Took Rs 1.47 Crore From Job-Seekers

Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) here has arrested two persons in a Rs 1.47-crore fraud case.

Those arrested are Baikunthanath Naik and Bhimsen Moharana.

They were arrested following a complaint by Badal Kumar Raula against them and two others, accusing them of cheating 38 job aspirants of Rs 1.47 crore. Raula is among the victims.

The accused allegedly took the money from the victims promising their selection in the Combined Police Service Examination (CPSE) 2013.

According to EOW officials, Raul and 37 others had appeared in CPSE 2013 conducted by the Odisha Staff Selection Commission for the post of police sub-inspector, sergeant and deputy subedar. The list of selected candidates was published in December 2016.

The victims were hopeful that a second list would come out and that they would make it to that list. EOW officials said that the accused hatched a plot to dupe them. Naik allegedly impersonated as an assistant section officer in the Home Department, while Moharana posed as a senior Home Department official. They had two more accomplices.

They allegedly promised the victims that they would ensure their selection and demanded Rs 5-6 lakh from each of them. Between May 2020 and November 2020, the accused allegedly took Rs.1.47 crore from them.

Officials said Moharana used to work as a senior grade recorder in the Higher Education Department and had retired. Many incriminating documents and items were seized from Naik’s house during searches.