Cuttack: Chauliaganj police Friday claimed to have arrested a couple on charges of duping an Odisha Industrial Security Force (OISF) havildar of Rs 65,000.
The arrested have been identified as Muralidhar Altia, 29, and Taneya Parida, 22, of Liagaon area in Boudh district.
According to police, Taneya had made friendship with OISF havildar Madhusudan Tripathy by opening a fake Facebook account.
Taneya had identified herself as a Plus II student. She was regularly talking to Tripathy over phone.
She had sought financial help from Tripathy to pursue a medical career. Unaware of Taneya’s real motive, Tripathy provided her Rs 65, 000 through online transaction, said the complaint.
Taneya did not come online on the fake Facebook account after receiving the money from Tripathy. She also switched off her phone.
Subsequently, Tripathy lodged a complaint in this regard with Chauliaganj police. “We had registered a cheating case in this regard and begun a probe. On a tip-off, we arrested the couple from Puri,” said an official of Chauliaganj police.
Cuttack deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Akhilesvar Singh said the couple had cheated several people by opening fake Facebook accounts. “The duo used to make friendship with people by opening fake Facebook accounts. They were collecting financial assistances from people on the pretext of illness and poor financial condition,” Singh added.
