Bhubaneswar: On Wednesday, twenty-five women from Badbanki village in Balangir district filed a formal complaint against a fraudster for duping them of Rs 15 lakh in false inducement to disburse a group loan.
Identified as Basudev Putel from Badbanki village, collected documents from more than 25 women by luring them with promises of providing a group loan.
The accused fled after deceiving the women into providing their fingerprints through a biometric device, allowing him to withdraw the funds for himself.
Women discovered foul play after the finance officers came to collect the first instalment of the loan amount and misbehaved with them on refusal of payment.
Enraged with Putel’s deceit, women locked Putel’s house, filing a complaint against him at Turekela police station.
Police officials have initiated an investigation into the matter.