Berhampur: Odisha Police have arrested a 35-year-old man for allegedly duping people by promising them loans against the deposit of valuables such as gold ornaments, motorcycles and mobile phones, an officer said Friday.
The accused, identified as K Rabindra Reddy, was nabbed from his residence in Adava area in Gajapati district on Thursday after receiving a complaint.
Police seized 137 motorcycles, 127 mobile phone sets, several bank documents and Rs 3.61 lakh in cash from the accused’s possession. The estimated cost of the seized items was over Rs 1 crore, R Udayagiri Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Rakesh Sahoo said.
The complainant alleged that around six months back, he had deposited his motorcycle, valued around Rs 90,000, with the accused and received Rs 20,000 as a loan against the vehicle. The accused also took the vehicle documents and the complainant’s signature on a blank stamp paper, the police officer said.
When the complainant later sought to return the money and take back his motorcycle, the accused initially avoided contacting him and later refused to return the vehicle, he said.
The complainant alleged that several others had been similarly duped by the accused.
The police suspect the accused was also involved in possessing forged documents and misappropriating properties obtained from innocent persons.
During the police raid, besides the huge number of motorcycles and mobile phone sets, vehicle registration certificates, agreements, stamp papers and other documents were seized.
Police have registered a case against Reddy for cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and forgery. Further investigation is underway, the SDPO added.
PTI
