Chhatrapur: Ganjam Police busted a fraud ring that duped unemployed youths of lakhs of rupees under the guise of providing employment.
Chhatrapur police arrested Panchanan Panda (42), a native of the Dhusuri area in Bhadrak district, in connection with defrauding a youth of Rs 50,000.
According to the police, Panda initially set up a fake recruitment agency and created forged identity cards. He then exploited recruitment advertisements of banks and other organisations published in various newspapers to entice job seekers into contacting him.
Posing as the head of the agency, Panda built trust over phone calls before collecting money on the promise of arranging jobs. Once the funds were received, he would switch off his mobile number, change locations, and abscond.
Police investigation revealed that the accused defrauded numerous unemployed youths of over Rs 50 lakh through this scheme.
Panda issued fake appointment letters to 61 individuals and had prepared forged appointment letters for 26 more candidates. Police stated that the accused collected money via bank accounts and UPI.
Based on the complaints, a case was registered under Chhatrapur PS Case No. 394, and an investigation was launched. During the probe, police arrested the accused from Bhubaneswar and seized 4 mobile phones, 61 fake appointment letters & 26 blank appointment letters, 25 fake identity cards, 6 Bank passbooks & 2 ATM cards, notebooks containing job applicants’ biodata & 8 passport-size photographs.
Chhatrapur SDPO Chandan Kumar Ghadei and IIC Sabyasachi Malla were present at the press conference.
