Bhubaneswar: Berhampur police today arrested two accused from Gujarat in a cyber-fraud case involving the defrauding of Berhampur University Vice-Chancellor Geetanjali Dash, who lost Rs 14 lakh through a digital arrest scam.
The accused are residents of Gujarat. Police had sent a special team to Gujarat, which investigated the case and tracked the accused. Police picked up two accused, while others involved in the scam are still at large.
SP (Berhampur) Saravan Vivek said that the police obtained vital clues and will arrest others involved in the fraud.
“We formed a small team and sent it to Gujarat, which investigated and arrested two accused. These accused are operators of a mule account. During interrogation, we received vital information regarding the involvement of others. They have made transactions of around Rs 2 crore. Several cyber cases are pending against them across the country. Based on the information received from them, we will make further arrests. Now, they are being forwarded to court,” SP Vivek said.
Posing as Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, the scammers looted Rs 14 lakh from VC Geetanjali Dash in February. On February 12, the fraudster placed
Dash under a so-called ‘digital arrest’, falsely claiming she was implicated in an ED case involving crores of rupees transferred to a bank account in her name. The fraudster demanded Rs 14 lakh for her release, and she transferred the money to the account provided.
After realising she had been cheated, she filed a complaint, and a case was registered at the cyber police station on February 24.
