Kataka: A man accused of duping a woman of Rs 20 lakh on the promise of transferring a residential plot in Kataka has been arrested by Mangalabag police. Police said on Sunday that the accused is a serial conman with a history of cheating cases across Odisha involving several crores of rupees.
The accused, identified as Shasadhar Panda, is a native of Pandapatna village under Dhusuri police limits in Bhadrak district. He had been residing in Sector-13 of the CDA area in Kataka. He was apprehended from Khaira in Baleshwar district on Saturday following technical surveillance and was produced before a local court on Sunday.
According to police, the case came to light after Deeparani Pattnaik, a resident of Friends Colony under Mangalabag police limits, lodged a complaint alleging that Panda had fraudulently induced her to part with Rs 20 lakh on the pretext of selling her a residential plot.
According to the complaint, the two first met during a programme organised by a registered voluntary organisation, Krantibahini, at Nakhara in June 2025. Over the following months, Panda and his family allegedly developed close ties with the complainant’s family through frequent visits.
During this period, Panda allegedly introduced himself as a retired Block Education Officer and claimed that he urgently needed Rs 20 lakh for his son’s higher education in Information Technology. When the complainant declined to lend him the money, he allegedly offered to transfer Plot No. 2F/796 in Sector-13 of the CDA area, claiming that it was registered in his wife’s name.
Trusting his assurances, the complainant allegedly paid Rs 20 lakh through cash and mobile banking transactions. However, despite repeated requests, Panda neither executed the sale deed nor refunded the money.
Police said that when the complainant later demanded either registration of the property or the return of her money, Panda allegedly abused and threatened her before switching off his mobile phone and going into hiding.
During the investigation, police tracked Panda’s movements through technical surveillance and arrested him from Khaira in Baleshwar district on July 18.
Investigators suspect Panda to be a habitual fraudster allegedly involved in several similar cheating cases registered across the state. Police records show that cases against him are pending at Mangalabag, Balianta, Bhadrak Rural, Nimapara, Bandhamunda and Bhadrak Town police stations. A separate complaint involving an alleged fraud of Rs 3.5 crore is also pending before the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
Police further alleged that Panda invested the proceeds of the alleged fraudulent activities in immovable properties, including two plots in the CDA area of Kataka, two plots at Sunderpada in Bhubaneswar and a three-storey building at Niua Sahi in Bidanasi, Kataka.
Mangalabag police said the investigation is continuing to ascertain the full extent of the alleged fraud and identify additional victims. They have appealed to members of the public who may have been cheated by the accused to come forward and provide relevant information.
