Bhubaneswar: Odisha Police’s cybercrime unit has facilitated the recovery of Rs 1.10 crore lost by a retired professor in a ‘digital arrest’ scam through prompt intervention under the 1930 Cyber Helpline mechanism, an official said Wednesday.
The victim, a resident of Bhubaneswar, lodged a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) May 15, alleging a loss of more than Rs 2.45 crore in a digital arrest fraud perpetrated in February.
A case was subsequently registered at the cybercrime police station of the CID, Crime Branch, under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, 2000. Following receipt of the complaint, the cybercrime team analysed the transaction trail and identified several beneficiary bank accounts linked to the fraud, the official said. “Holds and lien marks were requested on the suspected accounts to prevent further dissipation of funds,” he said. During the investigation, the team traced a private bank account holding the disputed amount of Rs 1.10 crore and secured a hold on it.
The cybercrime unit then assisted the complainant in obtaining the necessary court orders, resulting in the release and successful transfer of the entire amount back to the victim’s account, the official said. “This achievement underlines the effectiveness of the 1930 Cyber Helpline and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal in facilitating timely action against financial cyber fraud,” he said.
According to Odisha Police, a total of 49,426 complaints involving cyber fraud amounting to approximately Rs 432.28 crore were registered on the NCRP in the state during 2025. Of this, nearly Rs 68.71 crore was put on hold, and Rs 5.31 crore was returned to complainants, the official said. He said that up to April 30 this year, 16,335 complaints involving approximately Rs 134.24 crore had been registered, of which around Rs 24.27 crore was put on hold and Rs 2.97 crore refunded.
