Keonjhar: A woman has been arrested in this district for allegedly defrauding people of around Rs 1 crore on the pretext of providing them jobs in the Health department. The action came after separate cases were registered against her in Keonjhar Town and Sadar police stations. Accused Pramila Parida was arrested from her rented house at Amrut Vihar near Jail Road in the town. Parida allegedly scammed numerous youths from Keonjhar and neighboring districts by falsely promising them employment. Parida had been operating the fraudulent scheme since 2020.
On June 13, 2022, she took Rs 1 lakh via PhonePe from one Subashis Behera of Dalita village in Champua block, promising him a clerk position at the district headquarters hospital. Similarly, she allegedly took Rs 45,000 from Pritam Rout, Rs 55,000 from Gyanendra Narayan Rout of Yogimatha, Rs 55,000 from Rashmita Sethi of Dhrupada village, and an undisclosed amount from Pradeep Kumar Sahani of Jamudihi village. Based on these allegations, police registered a case (162/2025) and started an investigation.
In a separate complaint, victims including Sunil Giri, Uttam Mahanta, Binod Aruk, Rashmita, Chinmay, and Sunil Sahu accused Parida of collecting Rs 7.34 lakh through PhonePe and Rs 2.10 lakh in cash. A second case (160/2025) was also registered against her. Victims said Parida misled them with false job promises and, when confronted, she allegedly used various excuses to avoid repayment. Police have also named Deepak Sahu from Aro Vihar as a co-accused. Parida has been taken into two-day police remand for further interrogation, Keonjhar Town police officer Shrikant Sahu said. Investigations are in progress to uncover further details and identify more victims of the scam.
