Bhubaneswar: Five persons, including two women, were arrested in Bhubaneswar Sunday as an inter-state cyber fraud racket was busted, police said.
A fallout among the members of the gang over the share of crime proceeds led to a kidnapping, unravelling the entire case, they said.
Those arrested were identified as Bhagban Sahu (21), Amitarani Rout (50), her son Chiranjiv and daughter Akankhya (both 21), and Samir Kumar Bhuvey (35), a native of Bihar’s Nalanda.
Bhuvey, the mastermind of the racket, operated three bank accounts of Amitarani for committing cyber fraud in various states. And in return, she was getting 1.4 per cent as commission, DCP Jagmohan Meena said.
They sealed this deal in a meeting in Prayagraj a few months back, he said, adding that since then, transactions of Rs 9.5 crore have been done in the three accounts.
“After some financial dispute arose among them, the four accused from Odisha invited Bhuvey to Bhubaneswar. He came here September 5 and checked into a hotel in Chandaka. The four allegedly tried to abduct him last night from the hotel,” Meena said.
“After receiving information from the hotel staff, police reached the spot and detained all five,” he said.
At first, Bhuvey lodged a police complaint, alleging that the four persons tried to abduct him at the point of a knife and demanded Rs 25 lakh as ransom for his release.
On the other side, Amitarani lodged a complaint against Bhuvey, accusing him of cheating in the name of solar panel installation.
During interrogation, police found that they were all involved in cyber fraud.
“We will inform all the police stations where the gang cheated people,” the DCP said.
PTI
