Puri: After two years of extensive investigation, Puri Police have arrested a 45-year-old man for allegedly blackmailing and extorting money from women in multiple districts of Odisha by posing as a cop.
The accused has been identified as Manas Ranjan Jena, a resident of Mundanani village under Baliapal police limits in Balasore district.
According to police sources, the matter came to light on September 14, 2023, when a woman lodged a complaint with Puri Cyber Police. She alleged receiving a threatening call on September 5, 2023, around 9 pm from an unknown number. The caller, posing as a police inspector, cl
aimed to possess an objectionable video of the victim and threatened to circulate it on social media unless she paid Rs 2.70 lakh.
“Fearing humiliation and embarrassment, the woman transferred Rs 1.34 lakh to the accused via a UPI platform on the same day. He continued to threaten her, demanded more money and also forced her to come on video call,” Puri SP Prateek Singh told a presser on Wednesday.
Police meticulously examined documentary and digital evidence, including call records, transaction details, and other forensic leads, which ultimately traced the crime back to Jena. “The money trail led us to the account of another woman, who was also an victim of the accused,” the SP said.
Jena has a prior criminal history, having been jailed multiple times in the past. An engineering graduate, he allegedly leveraged his technical expertise to carry out the fraud. Five mobile phones, four ATM cards, a bank passbook, a cheque book, and 34 SIM cards were seized from his possession, the sources added.