Bhubaneswar, March 31: The Odisha Crime Branch has arrested seven inter-state cyber criminals, including a woman, for allegedly defrauding a sitting MLA and ex-Minister of Rs 1.4 crore.
The accused, who posed as trade analysts, lured the lawmaker with promises of high returns through investments in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and over-the-counter (OTC) trading.
The case was registered at the Cyber Police Station on January 13 following a complaint from the MLA, who had also served as Information Technology Minister in the previous BJD Government.
The accused – Jyothi Raju (39) and her husband Raju C (34), Ismail Rahaid (27) and Wasim (28) from Karnataka, along with Pattaraja S (34), Jegatheesh Radhakrishnan (40), and E. Sakthikumaravel (50) from Tamil Nadu – were apprehended in their respective States. They all were brought to Odisha on Sunday.
Crime Branch IG Sarthak Sarangi said, “On a report of fraud of Rs 1.44 crore, we registered a case on January 13. After a detailed investigation, we found that the money was sent to small accounts across India. We found that a large amount was transferred to accounts in Kerala and Karnataka and arrested four people from Karnataka and three from Tamil Nadu,” said Sarangi.
Sarangi said, “We have tracked some more States and we will send more teams for further investigation and arrests.”
The fraudsters contacted the MLA, who holds an MTech in biotechnology from prestigious IIT Kharagpur, through a WhatsApp group, claiming to be experienced trade analysts.
They persuaded him to invest in IPOs and OTC trading, leading him to transfer Rs 1.4 crore between November 13, 2024, and January 1, 2025.
Initially, they reported losses in his investments but managed to convince him of future profits if he continued to invest. However, when he attempted to withdraw his funds, the fraudsters demanded additional payments, raising his suspicions. The legislator subsequently approached the Crime Branch.
During the investigation, Crime Branch seized mobile phones, SIM cards, WhatsApp chat screenshots, Aadhaar and PAN cards, bank passbooks, cheque books, and debit cards from the accused. The investigating agency has also frozen Rs 15 lakh in various bank accounts linked to the suspects and recovered an additional Rs 4 lakh.
