Bhubaneswar, Mar 30: The Odisha Police Crime Branch has busted a Rs 1.4 crore cyber fraud by arresting seven inter-state accused allegedly involved in an online trading investment fraud case and seized Rs 19 lakh from their possession, an official said on Sunday.
Sources in the CID, Cyber Crime unit of the Crime Branch said the accused were apprehended from various locations across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Police identified the accused as Jyothi Raju (39), Raju C (34),Ismail Rahaid (27) Vasim (28), all from Karnataka, and Pattaraja S (34), Jegatheesh Radhakrishnan(40), and E Sakthikumaravel (50), all from Tamil Nadu.
On January 13 a complainant from Bhubaneswar filed a report with the Cyber Crime Police Station, stating that he had been defrauded by unidentified cyber fraudsters. They lured him with promises of high returns through investments in IPOs and OTC trading. Persuaded by their assurances, he began trading and, between November 13, 2024, and January 1, 2025, transferred a total of ₹1,40,00,000.
Despite initial losses, the fraudsters convinced him to invest further. However, when he attempted to withdraw his funds, they demanded additional payments and refused to release his money. Realising he had fallen victim to a scam, he promptly lodged an FIR. The case is currently under investigation.
The accused have been charged under Sections 318(4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 336(2) (forgery), 336(3) (forging document or electronic record), 338 (forgery or valuable securities), 340(2) (using forged document or electronic record as genuine), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), and 3(5) (common intention) of the BNS, along with Sections 66-C and 66-D of the Information Technology Act, 2000..
The accused persons have been produced before the Court of 11th ACJM, Court Mayo Hall, Bangalore, JMFC-III, Shivmoga and JMFC Periyapatna, all in Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu Court, respectively and are being brought on transit remand to Odisha.
The investigating team has seized various incriminating items, including mobile phones, SIM cards, WhatsApp chat screenshots, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, bank passbooks, cheque books, and debit cards.
In the course of the investigation, the Investigating Officer (IO) has frozen multiple bank accounts linked to the fraudsters. So far, Rs 15 lakh has been frozen in these accounts, while ₹4 lakh has been recovered, with further recovery efforts ongoing.
