Cuttack: On charges of defrauding an IT professional of ₹19.84 lakh, the Crime Branch of Odisha Police has arrested Ashwini Pal, a resident of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Large number of mobile SIM cards, Aadhaar Cards and PAN cards were seized from his possession.

Police official sources said 23 fraud cases are pending against Pal. 

As per a complaint, the complainant IT professional had received WhatsApp message few days back. The message stated he can earn handsomely while working from home. When the IT Professional enquired on Whatsapp, the message sender told him he will receive ₹50 by subscribing to a YouTube channel. Lured by money, the IT professional subsequently had fallen prey to the fraudster’s trap. 

The complainant was then added to a Telegram group. Another fraudster asked the IT professional to share the screenshot of subscribing to the YouTube Channel. 

Acting as per the directive of the fraudster, the complainant had invested ₹12,600 and got a cashback of ₹1,550. The complainant then invested ₹19,84,000 in four bank accounts on different occasions. 

The fraudster also lured him to invest in trading and bit coin on http://viacom1.com. Despite depositing large amount, the complainant was not allowed to withdraw money from the wallet. Instead, the fraudsters demanded more money towards income tax approval.

Finding no other option, the IT professional lodged a complaint with the Crime Branch.

The police official sources stated during ithe nvestigation, it was found that Pal was operating a medicine store in Mowa in Chhattisgarh. In the name of Mahamaya medical store, he created an account and defrauded people across the country.