Bhubaneswar: The Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Police Station in Bhubaneswar has arrested a man from Mayurbhanj district for allegedly providing his bank accounts to a cyber fraud network through which a retired bank manager was duped of Rs 9 lakh, police said on Saturday.
The accused has been identified as Rajendra Singh, a resident of Jharpokharia in Mayurbhanj district.
ACP, IT and Social Media Cell, Commissionerate Police, Suchismita Das, said the case came to light after Chidananda, a retired bank manager and resident of Khandagiri, lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Police Station on June 25, 2025.
According to police, Chidananda came across a Facebook advertisement offering credit cards to retired bank officers. After clicking on the advertisement, he received a call from a person allegedly posing as an Indian Bank official.
The caller asked him to share his personal details and subsequently sent a link through WhatsApp. The complainant opened the link on his laptop and entered his personal and banking details.
Two days later, Rs 9 lakh was allegedly debited from his bank account.
After his grievance could not be resolved through the bank’s redressal mechanism, Chidananda approached the Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Police Station and lodged a complaint.
During the investigation, police traced Rs 5 lakh of the defrauded amount to a bank account in Odisha in the first layer of the transaction. The account was allegedly held by Rajendra Singh.
Police subsequently traced and apprehended Singh from Jharpokharia in Mayurbhanj district.
During interrogation, Singh allegedly told police that he works as a daily wage labourer and is also involved in agricultural activities. Police said he had come in contact with an agent identified as Lipu, who operates in the Baleshwar-Mayurbhanj region and allegedly arranges mule bank accounts for use by cyber fraudsters.
According to police, Lipu allegedly lured Singh into providing bank accounts in return for money and other benefits. Singh was allegedly given Rs 6,000 in cash and Handia (a traditional rice-based fermented alcoholic beverage) for providing the accounts.
Police said Singh had handed over a total of six bank accounts to Lipu at different times. The investigation also revealed that the agent had facilitated the creation of several mule accounts through which fraud proceeds were allegedly routed.
“We have established the links within the network and are identifying the people involved. Stringent action will be taken against those found involved in the racket,” ACP Das said.
Police said the network was active across Baleshwar, Mayurbhanj, Bhubaneswar and Debagada, and investigators are probing the links between the accused and other members of the network.
The police are now trying to trace the agent and identify other persons involved in operating the mule accounts and routing the fraud proceeds.
Further investigation is underway.
