Bhubaneswar: Pahala police Wednesday arrested a man for allegedly cheating a woman of Rs 22.70 lakh by posing as a doctor and luring her with a false promise of marriage.
The accused has been identified as Ranjib Kumar Pradhan, who impersonated himself as Dr Prakash Pradhan.
According to police sources, the complainant came in contact with Ranjib in 2021 through a matrimonial platform after sharing her biodata.
Introducing himself as Dr Prakash Pradhan, the accused also falsely claimed that his younger brother, Tushar Pradhan, was working as a Deputy Manager at SBI, Rayagada.
Trusting his assurances of marriage, the complainant and her family remained in regular contact with him.
During this period, Ranjib convinced the complainant’s father to invest money on the pretext of Covid-19 senior citizen policies, departmental training schemes and petrol pump dealership auctions.
Acting on his instructions, the family transferred Rs 22.70 lakh to Ranjib between June and December 2021.
Investigation revealed that after receiving the money, Ranjib deliberately delayed the marriage, failed to provide any policy bond documents, and continued to demand more money on false grounds.
Technical analysis showed that the two mobile numbers used in the dealings were operated by Ranjib himself.
Preliminary findings further revealed that Ranjib alone orchestrated the fraud by using multiple identities.
Police verification with SBI Rayagada and CHC Manamunda confirmed that no person named Tushar Pradhan was employed as Deputy Manager at the bank, nor was any doctor named Prakash Pradhan working at the said hospital.
During interrogation, Ranjib confessed to the offence and admitted to using his father’s bank account to receive the cheated money.
He was forwarded to court following his arrest, and further investigation into the matter is underway.