Bhubaneswar: In a major success against cyber fraudsters, the Crime Branch of Odisha Police has arrested five persons in connection with alleged investment fraud amounting to Rs 10.72 crore.
The arrested persons have been identified as Hiteshbhai Patra (39), Parth Parmar (25), Thakkar Karsanji Sobhaji (48), and Kureshi Mohammed Aslam (31) from Gujarat, and Akash Kesharwani (33) from Uttar Pradesh.
As per a Crime Branch press release, two teams were sent to Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, Anand district, and Surat, and Uttar Pradesh to further investigate the case under CID CB Cyber–Crime P.S. cases No. 50/2024, 60/2024, 57/2024, and 03/2025.
Case 1: Rs 1.28 Crore Investment Fraud (Case No. 50/2024)
In connection with CID CB Cyber Crime P.S. case No. 50/2024, involving an investment fraud of Rs 1.28 crore, the Crime Branch arrested Hiteshbhai Patra. He is the primary account holder, with Rs 27 lakh directly deposited into his account.
Patra, a native of Balasore, Odisha, was residing in Surat, Gujarat, where he worked as a website developer/designer. Authorities seized six bank cheque books, 31 debit/credit cards, 13 rubber stamps of fake companies, 12 mobile handsets, SIM cards, four pen drives, and eight government and non-government IDs from his possession.
Case 2: Rs 7.5 Crore Investment Fraud (Case No. 60/2024)
In CID CB Cyber Crime P.S. case No. 60/2024, involving an investment fraud of Rs 7.5 crore, the Crime Branch arrested Parth Parmar. He is the primary account holder, with Rs 25 lakh deposited into his account. Authorities seized a mobile phone, Aadhaar card, and PAN card from his possession.
Case 3: Rs 87.8 Lakh Investment Fraud (Case No. 57/2024)
In CID CB Cyber Crime P.S. case No. 57/2024, concerning an investment fraud of Rs 87.8 lakh, two suspects were arrested.
Thakkar Karsanji Sobhaji, the primary account holder, had Rs 9.3 lakh deposited into his account. Authorities seized a mobile phone, Aadhaar card, and PAN card from his possession.
Kureshi Mohammed Aslam, also a primary account holder, had Rs 6 lakh deposited into his account. Similarly, a mobile phone, Aadhaar card, and PAN card were seized.
Case 4: Rs 1.4 Crore Investment Fraud (Case No. 03/2025)
In CID CB Cyber Crime P.S. case No. 03/2025, involving an investment fraud of Rs 1.4 crore, Akash Kesharwani was arrested. Kesharwani, a secondary account holder, had Rs 3.7 lakh transferred into his account. Authorities seized a mobile phone, Aadhaar card, and PAN card from him.
Further interrogation revealed that Kesharwani was linked to additional fraudulent activities, with four more current accounts identified for similar schemes.
The investigation is ongoing, with the authorities working to identify and apprehend additional persons involved in the fraud. The Crime Branch is also tracing the national ramifications and tracking the money trail.
Efforts are on to uncover other accomplices involved in this crime, its trans-India ramifications, and the money trail.
