MBA graduate from Bengaluru arrested for conning Odisha jewelers

BHUBANESWAR: A 25-year-old MBA graduate from Bengaluru was arrested by Commissionerate Police on Sunday for allegedly cheating three jewellery store owners in Odisha by impersonating himself as an Income Tax (IT) officer.

Vishal Rajkumar Nilenge has cheated three jewellery store owners in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Puri. The police of the three districts had circulated Nilenge’s photographs with their counterparts across the State.

Commissionerate Police’s Special Squad received information about Nilenge’s arrival in the city and he was nabbed from a hotel under Kharavela Nagar police limits.

“Nilenge had visited the jewellery stores and impersonated himself as a newly recruited IT officer. He used to purchase gold ornaments worth Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh from each store and opted for online payment,” said Special Squad in-charge ACP Sanjeev Satapathy.

“The accused used two mobile phones. He used to send forged bank messages to himself stating the money was deducted from his account. However, when the jewellery store owners did not see the money getting credited to their accounts, the accused conned them by saying their internet connection might be slow,” said Satapathy. 

The jewellery store owners also allowed him to leave their premises in good faith and later realised that they were conned. The accused has committed similar offences in various parts of the country and he was apprehended by Bengaluru police last year.

Nilenge arrived in the city from Hyderabad in a flight on April 9 and had planned to return on April 13. Meanwhile, Special Squad has handed over Nilenge to Sambalpur police for interrogation.