Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police has arrested two persons, Manmath Keshari Patnaik and middleman Bhimsen Nayak, for cheating people of Rs 65 lakh on the pretext of giving them plots in Bhubaneswar.
The accused duo had promised to sell plots to the victims but instead, threatened to kill them when asked to return the money.
According to reports, Manmath Keshari Patnaik took Rs 25 lakh from Soumyaranjan Patra in 2023 through the bank account of his associate Bhimsen Naik, promising him to sell a plot.
However, Soumyaranjan came to know that there was no such plot in Manmath’s name. When he demanded his money back, the accused refused and threatened to kill him.
Finding no option, Soumyaranjan filed a complaint at the Nandankanan police station.
Similarly, the accused duo had defrauded Nirmal Rout of Balipada. They cheated Rs 40 lakh from him on the pretext of selling a plot. When Nirmal asked for his money back, Manmath threatened him and refused to return the amount.
Nirmal also informed the matter to Nandankannan police station, who registered the case and investigated the matter.
Police arrested the accused from the Kalyanpur area. The accused have confessed to their crimes during interrogation.
