SAMBALPUR: On Friday, the Sambalpur Cyber Crime and Economic Offences (CC & EO) police presented three siblings in court, accused of deceiving a bank employee out of Rs 25 lakh. They reportedly lured their victim with a fictitious Facebook profile and offered him the chance to double his investment via a supposed currency printing machine.
The trio has been identified as Jharana Badi (38), Rajesh Badi (32), and Rajkumari Badi (24), hailing from Babupada in the Jharsuguda district. The sisters and their brother had been residing in a rented property in Singpali, within the jurisdiction of Ainthapali police.
Sambalpur Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo informed reporters that the accused had acquired their fraudulent techniques through YouTube, which they employed to gain the victim’s trust prior to committing the fraud.
The scheme was uncovered when Lipak Kumar Pradhan, a branch manager of a private insurance firm based in Rourkela, reported to the CC & EO police on June 29. He claimed that the accused reached out to him through a phony Facebook account under the name ‘Disha Agrawal’. After developing a relationship with Pradhan, they persuaded him to invest in their illusory money-doubling venture. The profile picture belonged to Jharana, according to police records.
“The accused initially got in touch with the victim using a counterfeit Facebook identity and slowly earned his trust. Subsequently, she invited him to a hotel in Sambalpur and urged him to invest in the alleged money-doubling scheme in the presence of her accomplices,” Bhamoo explained.
Persuaded by their demonstration, Pradhan allegedly withdrew Rs 25 lakh from a home loan account and traveled to Angul to meet the suspects at a hotel.
The accused then purportedly executed a bag-swapping trick. Police reports indicate that they distracted Pradhan by claiming they had forgotten a USB drive and motorcycle keys, using the diversion to switch the bag containing the cash for another bag filled with notepads. They escaped while Pradhan awaited their return at the hotel. Days later, Pradhan filed a complaint with the cyber police.
Authorities tracked down the suspects to their rented residence in Singpali and arrested them on Thursday night.
Law enforcement seized Rs 15.50 lakh in cash, gold and silver jewelry valued at approximately Rs 12 lakh, as well as 20 mobile phones, a laptop, a tablet, a scooter, fake Aadhaar cards, and other items. Some jewelry was reportedly acquired with the fraud’s earnings, while others had been pawned and subsequently recovered from a financial institution.
The police also confiscated a Blu-ray machine, which was allegedly used as the fake currency-printing device.
“Initial investigations have shown that the accused may have also defrauded another victim in Rourkela out of Rs 10 lakh using a similar method. The suspects will be remanded for further interrogation to explore their connections to other fraudulent activities and to determine how they utilized the machine to deceive victims,” Bhamoo stated.
