Cuttack: Police arrested thirty-two individuals, predominantly from West Bengal, from a hotel here Thursday in connection with a cryptocurrency fraud case that had previously led to a kidnapping.
Acting on a tip-off, a raid was conducted at a hotel in the Sikharpur area, they said.
As per preliminary investigation, four individuals, including one from Bhubaneswar, duped people, promising them high returns on investment through cryptocurrency trading platforms, they said.
After duping the investors, most of whom were from West Bengal, the ‘fraudsters’ were hiding in a place near Puri, they added.
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After getting to know their whereabouts, some of the investors allegedly abducted the ‘fraudsters’ from Puri and brought them Wednesday to the hotel in Cuttack, where they had forcefully kept them, police said.
“We will investigate the case from two angles — cryptocurrency fraud and kidnapping. We will also verify whether any investor from Odisha became a victim of the fraud,” Cuttack DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said.
Four high-value cars were seized in the operation, he said, adding that the investigation would continue.
