Bhubaneswar: The crime branch of Odisha Police has arrested two persons for allegedly duping an individual of Rs 1.08 crore through an online cricket betting scam.
The accused have been identified as Rohan, alias Sk Wasiul Islam (29), a native of West Bengal, and Jyoti Prakash Pallai (36) from Bhubaneswar, police said.
The arrests were made on the basis of a written complaint lodged by the victim from the Kalinganagar area in Jajpur May 1.
According to a police officer, the victim was defrauded by unknown cyber fraudsters between August 2022 and January 2025 through a fake link to an online cricket betting website. The victim ultimately lost around Rs 1.08 crore, police added.
Initially, the victim started paying small amounts through UPI before getting addicted to the game and investing huge amounts, police said.
The fraudsters convinced him to keep transferring larger sums of money. Eventually, he ended up transferring a total of Rs 1,08,79,420 from his own account, as well as from the accounts of his wife, friends and staff, the officer added.
After 2.5 years, the victim realised that it was a scam and lodged an FIR at the cyber police station.
Based on digital evidence, the crime branch team nabbed the accused Tuesday and forwarded them to court.
Police have seized passbooks, cheque book, mobile phones, SIM card, GST certificate, Aadhar card, PAN card, etc. from the possession of the accused.
Further investigation is in progress, he informed.
PTI
