Bhubaneswar, Jan 14 (IANS): Odisha Commissionerate Police has arrested one fraudster for cheating a contractor of more than Rs 7 lakh by impersonating a senior IPS officer and Superintendent of Police in the state vigilance department, said Goutam Kisan, the ACP Zone-V on Sunday.

The police have identified the accused as Manoj Kumar Majhi (34) of Krushnaprasad area in Puri district.

On May 31, 2023, Manoj Kumar Choudhury, a native of Rayagada district, filed a complaint at the cyber police station in Bhubaneswar that an unknown person had duped the complainant of Rs 7, 60,000. Based on the complaint, the Cyber Police registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter.

Police later nabbed Majhi near his village and seized Rs 2.6 lakh in cash, six ATMs cards and other incriminating materials from his possession.

“The accused contacted the complainant, Choudhury, a contractor, over telephone identifying himself as a senior IPS officer and the Superintendent of Police in the Vigilance department. During the conversation, he told Choudhury that several projects of the vigilance department would start soon and asked him whether he was interested in doing the building work,” said ACP Kisan.

When Choudhury expressed his interest in the building work of the Vigilance Divisional Office at Therubali and Rayagada, Majhi asked him to pay Rs 5 lakh as advance which he paid accordingly in April last year. He later again took Rs 2,6,0000 from Choudhury to help him get the buildings' contract after a few days.

However, he later started avoiding Choudhury following the receipt of the advance money and also switched off his mobile phone. Finding no other way, Choudhury finally lodged a complaint with the police.

“The accused Majhi used to work as the psychology lecturer at a College in Udala area of Mayurbhanj district. However, later he started cheating people through various means. We have so far found his involvement in five other cases of cheating including one case registered by the Economic Offence Wing of the state crime branch,” added Kisan.