Businessman loses money in betting, fakes abduction in Odisha’s Bargarh

Bargarh: In a dramatic turn of events, Odisha police have arrested a businessman from Chhattisgarh for allegedly faking his abduction to evade creditors after losing money in IPL betting. The accused, identified as Sunil Agarwal (35), a rice trader, was nabbed from Raipur on Wednesday night.

As per reports, Sunil hailed from Bangomunda in Balangir district but was based in Bargarh where he was involved in trading of broken rice. In the last season, he had procured broken rice from atleast nine millers – four in Bargarh, two in Sambalpur and three in Balangir – worth over Rs 80 lakh and assured to pay them back after selling it. He then sold the grains but instead of returning the amount, he invested the money in betting on IPL matches and lost the entire amount.

When the millers confronted him and demanded their dues, he started eluding them and went into hiding. In September, Sunil’s wife Jyotsna filed a complaint with Sadar police alleging that he had been kidnapped.

Acting on the complaint, police started investigation and finally traced Sunil in Raipur. However, during interrogation, it was revealed that he had faked his own abduction.

Police shared that on the day of his kidnap, Sunil had withdrawn Rs 13 lakh from his account and transferred Rs 1 lakh to his wife. This led to suspicion. After he was tracked down from Raipur, he confessed to the crime. “The accused has been produced in court and a case has been registered. Efforts are underway to ascertain if there are others involved in the fake abduction,” official sources added.