Bhubaneswar: In a significant success under Cyber Kavach initiative, police in Odisha’s Sambalpur have arrested two persons from Delhi allegedly linked to an interstate cyber fraud network.
The suspects, Jagdish Kumar (44) and Ram Ashre (39), both residents of north Delhi, were apprehended on charges of managing and facilitating mule bank accounts used to launder proceeds from a sophisticated scam that defrauded a local businessman of over Rs 20 lakh.
According to police sources, the breakthrough came after suspicious transactions were flagged in a bank account belonging to Sunishuddh Agro Pvt Ltd at the Bamra branch of SBI under Gobindpur police limits. The account holder, Achyutananda Patel, was found to be a victim of an organised cyber fraud racket. He was allegedly targeted by fraudsters who first contacted him via WhatsApp by posing as buyers and placed a bulk order of 50 agricultural reapers last year. They transferred Rs 20.7 lakh to his account in 12 transactions on the pretext of advance payments.
“They later induced him to withdraw and deliver large cash,” the Sambalpur police said in a post on X.
The victim was allegedly manipulated through a layered impersonation strategy, involving business inducement, staged emergencies, and impersonations of powerful figures, including senior politicians and high-ranking officials from central investigative agencies, to instil fear and extract additional funds. In one instance, claiming a medical crisis in Kolkata, the scammers convinced Patel to personally deliver Rs 13 lakh in cash. They also convinced him to transfer Rs 7 lakh of his own money as well.
Subsequent transfers included Rs 4.98 lakh routed to an account in Jagdish Kumar’s name, Rs 7 lakh sent in two parts to another account, and various smaller amounts directed elsewhere under the guise of resolving issues like unfreezing the victim’s business account.
A team from Sambalpur’s Cyber Crime and Economic Offences police station acted on intelligence leads to track and arrest the duo in Delhi. “Further investigation is underway to expose the wider interstate network of account suppliers, handlers, and impersonators,” the post added.
