Odisha Businessman Fakes His Own Abduction After Losing Money In IPL Betting, Arrested

Bargarh: In what appears to be a plot straight out of a potboiler, a 35-year-old businessman faked his kidnapping to evade creditors, whom he owed around Rs 80 lakh.

The matter came to light after the accused businessman, Sunil Agrawal, was arrested by Bargarh police from Raipur in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday night.

According to sources, a native of Bangomunda in Balangir district, Agrawal had been staying in Bargarh for his business in broken rice. He procured broken rice from at least nine millers in Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh and Boudh districts during last season and assured them of payment after selling it. He sold the grains in Kantabanji and received around Rs 80 lakh but lost major portion of it in betting on IPL matches.

When the rice millers confronted him seeking their money, Agrawal plotted his own kidnapping and went underground in the last week of September. His brother-in-law Narendra Agarwal lodged a missing complaint with Sadar police on September 29 and his wife Jyotsna later alleged that he had been kidnapped and even named some suspects.

During investigation, police found that Agarwal had withdrawn a large sum of money on the day of his kidnap and suspected that he had faked his abduction. “He had withdrawn Rs 13 lakh from his account and transferred Rs 1 lakh to his wife’s account on the day of his alleged kidnapping. Three police teams were formed to trace Agrawal, who was kept under surveillance and his location was tracked. Agrawal was finally apprehended in Raipur and has confessed to his crime,” Bargarh Additional SP Tapan Kumar Mohanty.

A cheating case is also pending against the accused in Sadar police station, the officer said, adding that further investigation is underway to ascertain involvement of others in the fake abduction.

Agarwal’s brother-in-law has also been arrested in connection with the case.