Baripada: Police of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district arrested a 46-year-old woman for allegedly duping multiple people out of more than Rs 3 crore by impersonating a senior official of the Labour Department by promising them government jobs and easy bank loans.
The accused, identified as Binodini Nayak, hails from the Balani area in Keonjhar district and was apprehended from the Hanspal locality in Bhubaneswar.A mobile phone and multiple SIM cards were seized from her possession during the arrest.
According to preliminary investigations, Nayak had been operating the scam for over three years, using more than 30 SIM cards from various telecom providers to contact victims and evade detection. She would pose as a high-ranking Labour Department officer, convincingly promising job placements in the department and facilitating loans for women. Her persuasive communication style reportedly made it difficult for victims to suspect foul play.
The arrest followed a complaint filed by Santosh Kumar Pati of Parasibada village on January 22. Pati alleged that he had paid Nayak around Rs 30 lakh a few months for a promised job in the Labour Department. She repeatedly assured him that an appointment letter was forthcoming, but later stopped responding and switched off her phone, prompting him to approach the police.
Kaptipada police station IIC Madhumita Mohanty stated that a cheating case was registered based on Pati’s complaint and the accused was traced to Bhubaneswar with assistance from the district cyber police. She was produced before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) Court in Udala, where her bail application was rejected, and she was remanded to judicial custody.
Police revealed that multiple cheating cases have already been registered against Nayak at various stations, including Kaptipada, Udala, Bangiriposi, and Bhanjpur in Mayurbhanj district; Berhampur in Balasore district; and Kharavela Nagar, Balipatna, and others. Further investigation is underway to identify additional victims and recover the defrauded amount.
