Cuttack: In a major breakthrough, the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate on Sunday arrested six persons from Balangir district for allegedly defrauding a man of Rs 78 lakh by luring him into investing in fake trading apps with promises of high returns.
The accused have been identified as Bijaya Kumar Meher (28) of Nagafena village, Bishwambhar Kharsel (27) of Palesira village, Rajesh Tandi (20) of Batharla village, Anil Naik (21) of Badapada village, Sritam Meher (19) of Jail Line Pada village, and Dipak Dharua (24) of Sunamudi village. All belong to Balangir district.
According to an official press release, the complaint was lodged at the Cyber Police Station on April 24. The complainant reported that in February 2025, he came into contact with a Telegram user identifying herself as “Priya Bajaj” under the ID @good_priya. She allegedly convinced him to invest in the stock market through a trading platform, promising unusually high returns.
Initially, Rs 12 lakh was transferred from the complainant’s Kotak Mahindra Bank account to a DBS Bank account. Over the following weeks, additional payments were made—Rs 10,000 on February 8, Rs 10 lakh on March 5, Rs 20 lakh on March 22, Rs 20 lakh on March 23, and Rs 10 lakh on April 18 (to an IDFC Bank account via Axis Bank). Another Rs 5 lakh was transferred to a Bandhan Bank account on April 12.
The total fraud amount stood at Rs 78 lakh.
Following the complaint, the Cyber Police initiated a technical investigation based on data from banks and telecom authorities. Despite the use of VPNs and foreign IPs by the fraudsters, investigators retrieved crucial evidence, including login credentials and ATM surveillance footage.
A special investigation team—comprising ACPs Satyajit Dash and Pramod Kumar Pattnaik, Inspector R. Jena, ASI Suryakant Swain, and constables Biswajit Jena, Ramesh Chandra Behera, Siladitya Behuria, and Subhransu Sekhar Kar—was constituted under the supervision of the Commissioner of Police. The team, with support from Balangir Police, successfully apprehended the accused.
Police revealed that the group operated a well-planned cybercrime racket. They procured bank accounts and mobile numbers from across the country to route the funds and used fake Telegram profiles to run fraudulent investment groups. Victims were urged to invest in USDT (Tether cryptocurrency) with false promises of high returns.
During the raid, police seized seven mobile phones, 16 ATM cards, 15 bank passbooks, four unsigned cheques, three signed cheques, and three SIM cards. Authorities also froze 66 bank accounts and seized Rs 7.38 lakh from various accounts, along with Rs 4.3 lakh in cash.
The police have urged citizens to remain vigilant against unsolicited investment offers circulated via Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. Fraudsters often use fake profiles and appealing schemes to exploit unsuspecting individuals.
