Bhubaneswar: The Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Bhubaneswar Sunday arrested a 46-year-old West Bengal man in connection with an online investment fraud in which a City resident was duped of Rs 50.16 lakh on the promise of high returns.
The accused has been identified as Arabinda Paul (46), a resident of the Hooghly district of West Bengal.
According to police, Bhagirathi Mohanta, a resident of the City stated that he came across online investment platforms offering high returns and was later added to a WhatsApp group named “SMC SIT III WII Group” October 8, 2024.
The group invitation was sent from a mobile number, and the group was coordinated by a woman identifying herself as Kriti Gupta, claiming to be an assistant and group coordinator.
As per the instructions given in the group, the complainant opened a trading account with an entity posing as the SMC Capital Customer Care Unit.
He was subsequently directed by service managers to transfer money to multiple bank accounts for investment purposes.
Believing the claims to be genuine, the complainant transferred a total amount of Rs 50.16 lakh from his bank accounts to various accounts provided by the fraudsters.
He later realised that the investment scheme was fraudulent and that the bank accounts did not belong to any legitimate company.
Police said Arabinda and his associates impersonated investment coordinators and lured victims by assuring unusually high returns.
The money collected was routed through bank accounts operated by cyber fraudsters, which handled transactions worth lakhs of rupees daily. During the investigation, police seized a keypad mobile phone from Arabinda’s possession and forwarded him to the court.
