Odisha lecturer dupes contractor of over Rs 7 lakh by posing as Vigilance SP; arrested

Bhubaneswar: The police have arrested a college lecturer on charges of duping a contractor of over Rs 7 lakh by posing as a Vigilance SP in Odisha.

The accused has been identified as Manoj Kumar Majhi, a lecturer at the psychology department of Jhadeswari College at Udala in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.

Victim Manoj Kumar Choudhury, a private contractor in Rayagada area of Odisha, had lodged a complaint with police on May 31, last year.

As per the complaint, Behera, posing as a Vigilance SP, had promised to award a contract for some construction work at the office of the anti-corruption agency to Choudhury some months ago.

Behera had sought Rs 10 lakh from Choudhury to award him the contract. He had allegedly provided some documents to Choudhury to win his confidence.

Choudhury had provided Rs 5 lakh to Behera through online mode and Rs 2.60 lakh in cash to get the contract, added the complaint.

Choudhury lodged a complaint with police after Behera failed to keep his promise.

The police registered a case against Behera under Sections 419, 420, 467 and 468 of the IPC and relevant Sections of the IT Act.

The cops have seized Rs 2.60 lakh in cash, a mobile phone and six ATM cards from the accused.

The accused had earlier been booked in cheating cases at the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Crime Branch and various police stations in Ganjam, Puri and Mayurbhanj district in Odisha.