Fraud Alert: Odisha Police Nab Woman Linked to ₹75 Lakh Investment Scam
Arrest of Investment Fraud Suspect
Bhubaneswar: The crime branch of Odisha has apprehended a woman from West Bengal in connection with an alleged investment fraud amounting to ₹75.10 lakh, as confirmed by an official.
The suspect, identified as Anushka Mitra, 24, hails from Durgapur in the Bardhaman district.
She was transported to Odisha under a transit remand and appeared before a local court on June 7. Currently, she is in judicial custody, according to a crime branch representative.
Mitra, along with her accomplices, masqueraded as trade analysts and deceived a Balasore district resident out of ₹74.10 lakh through a sophisticated investment scheme.
The fraudsters enticed the victim with promises of substantial returns from investments in international metal trading, Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), and Over-the-Counter (OTC) trading. Despite incurring losses, the victim continued to invest under their influence.
When he attempted to withdraw his funds, the scammers requested additional payments. Realizing he had been scammed, the victim lodged a First Information Report (FIR), leading to her arrest.
In a related incident, the crime branch has detained five individuals from Gujarat over the past few days in connection with three distinct cyber fraud cases.
An official statement revealed that two individuals from Gujarat were arrested for their involvement in an online trading scam worth ₹1.4 crore.
In another case, two additional suspects from Gujarat were apprehended for allegedly defrauding a Bhubaneswar resident of ₹1.06 crore by subjecting him to what investigators described as a 'digital arrest.'
Impersonating officials from the Mumbai crime branch and a courier service, the cyber criminals threatened the victim with arrest and media exposure, coercing him to transfer funds to their accounts.
In a third incident, a 22-year-old man from Gujarat was arrested for allegedly cheating ₹50 lakh from a resident of Chhatrapur, Ganjam district, under the guise of offering high returns from stock market investments.