Bhubaneswar: The Cyber Crime Police here have arrested a 50-year-old man from Bihar for allegedly duping a City resident of Rs 15.19 lakh on the false promise of offering distributorship and franchise rights of reputed Tata group companies, police said Monday. The accused, identified as Dadhibal Kumar Singh of Saran district in Bihar, was arrested in connection with Cyber Crime Police Station Case No. 43 dated March 26, 2026, registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.
According to police, complainant Bijan Kumar Mahapatra alleged that fraudsters, posing as representatives of Tata Power Solar Systems Limited and Tata 1mg Health care Solutions Private Limited, lured him with promise of distributorship and franchise opportunities.
The accused and his associates allegedly contacted the victim through email and WhatsApp and persuaded him to deposit money in stages towards registration, agreement processing, stock purchase, additional stock and TDS.
Believing the claims to be genuine, the complainant transferred the amount through NEFT from his wife’s bank account to multiple bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. Police said the victim paid Rs 10.97 lakh for the purported Tata Power Solar distributorship and another Rs 4.21 lakh for a Tata 1mg franchise, taking the total amount transferred to Rs 15,19,200. The promised distributorship and franchise were never provided, following which the victim realised he had been cheated and lodged a complaint. During investigation, police traced and arrested Singh and forwarded him to the court. Further investigation is underway, police added.
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