Official sources said the accused committed fraud to the tune of crores by cheating people with fake identities.
Malkangiri: A team of Special Rask Force has arrested another person for his alleged involvement in a fraud case in Kalimela tehsil of Odisha’s Malkangiri district. The accused, identified as Laxman Madhi of Ambaguda village in the block, was nabbed on charges of thuggery, cheating and impersonation. Official sources said the accused committed fraud to the tune of crores by cheating people with fake identities.
With his arrest, the STF has nabbed total three persons in the racket including mastermind mastermind Kanhu Charan Pradhan and Kishore Mishra, who have been involved in duping people by impersonating as RTI activists and senior government officials.
As per the official release, Madhi was a close associate of kingpin Kanhu and was also in frequent touch with him. He was arrested as part of STF probe which had been initiated after case was registered against him and Kanhu with Koraput police. After Kanhu’s arrest, ongoing investigation had revealed that a huge transaction of Rs 60 lakh had been made via Madhi’s account. Both Madhi and Kanhu were part of a gang that used to cheat and dupe people by posing as RTI activists and claiming to have close proximity with senior officers by assuring them of getting various licenses, transfers, etc.
It also came to the fore that many people had saved their numbers as additional secretary or secretary. The group was active in various parts of Odisha and was using some mule bank accounts including some accounts of dead persons. The members used to then trick people by saving their numbers as some senior officers and when people
verify it on ‘True-caller” they would start trusting them as genuine, the release stated.
“The accused have cheated many people and investigation has revealed more than Rs 40 crore transactions were made in the accounts of Kanhu Pradhan and his associates. Further investigation is on,” police said.
