Bargarh: A 30-year-old man of Odisha’s Balangir has been arrested for allegedly duping several youths of over Rs 1 crore with the promise of helping them land a job at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
The accused has been identified as Niteigaura Barik. He had collected money from youths of Bargarh, Sonepur, Balangir and Kalahandi districts and also handed them fake appointment letters of BSNL.
According to police sources, the arrested had been running this racket for the last seven years and absconding since 2017. He targeted the youths through two fake Facebook account. He would chat with them by posing as the AGM of BSNL through the first account created in the name of a girl, S Pradhan, and promise to connect them to the DGM of the state-owned telecom company. “Subsequently, through his other account in the name of Gyanendra Barik, he posed as the DGM of BSNL and invited the targeted youths to meet him at hotels. After convincing them, he took money from them in phases,” Additional superintendent of police (ASP), Tapan Mohanty told TNIE.
The ASP further said that the accused mostly received money through UPI to gain the trust of the victims and gave them fake appointment letters and joining letters with the official logo of BSNL. He also issued signed cheques when some victims demanded that he return the money after detecting the fraud, but those bounced due to lack of funds, he added.
On July 29, a youth from Sohela area of the district lodged a complaint with police regarding the fraud. Following which, three special teams were formed to investigate the matter. Police have seized two fake IDs, chequebooks, and several fake documents, including appointment letters and a diary containing names of victims from Barik. Names of 56 students, who had given around Rs 50 lakh to the accused, have been ascertained so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace other possible accused involved in the racket.
