Bhubaneswar: The Cyber and Economic Offences Police Sunday arrested two persons for cheating a man of Rs 89,699 through a fake lottery scheme in the City. Police seized mobile phones, numerous lottery coupon cards, WhatsApp chat printouts, an iPhone, a Honda Dio scooter, and a prepaid debit card from their possession. The accused have been identified as Nigamananda Kar (30) and Dharmananda Dhal (31).
According to the complaint, November 2, 2025, around 9:30 am, an unidentified man visited the complainant’s government quarter in the Unit-II area of the City. Introducing himself as Rajendra Tripathy from Manibaba Electronics, Bapuji Nagar, he persuaded the complainant to purchase a Rs 100 scratch coupon.
Upon scratching it, the complainant was told he had won an induction cooker. When given the option to choose a different reward, the complainant opted for a laptop worth Rs 52,400. Taking advantage of this, the fraudster convinced him to pay Rs 26,200 online immediately, assuring him that the remaining amount could be paid in 12 interest-free installments. The accused then sent a fake credit message to the complainant’s phone, falsely claiming that the full amount had already been credited.
Misled by this, the complainant made another payment. The fraudsters continued to pressure him with repeated calls, insisting they had not received the money. In total, the complainant transferred Rs 89,699 through five separate transactions to different bank accounts. During the investigation, police seized bank statements, WhatsApp chat records, screenshots of the disputed transactions, scratch coupons, and forged credit messages.
Verification of the bank transactions confirmed that Rs 89,699 had been fraudulently siphoned off. Police also found that the accused had been visiting residential colonies and specifically targeting senior citizens by selling Rs 100 lottery coupons and promising electronic items as prizes. They prepared fake lottery coupons and fabricated banking messages to carry out the fraud. During interrogation, both admitted to their involvement in the crime. They were forwarded to court, and further investigation is underway to trace other members of the racket and identify additional victims.
