Odisha EOW arrests two imposters for duping job aspirants

BHUBANESWAR: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch arrested two persons for allegedly impersonating senior officials of the home department and taking Rs 1.47 crore from 38 aspirants on the pretext of giving them jobs in Odisha Police Department.
The accused were identified as Baikunthanath Naik (32) and Bhimsen Maharana (63). While Naik is jobless, Maharana had retired as a senior grade recorder from the higher education department.
The EOW said the 38 victims had appeared in the combined police service examinations conducted by the Odisha Staff Selection Commission (OSSC) in 2013 for the posts of sub-inspector, sergeant and deputy subedar. Due to some court issues, the results were published in December 2016.
The accused spread rumours among many unsuccessful candidates that the OSSC would release a second list of the selected candidates. Without verifying from the OSSC authorities, these 38 victims approached the two fraudsters with the hope of getting jobs in the state police.
“Taking advantage of the desperation of the jobless youths, the accused introduced themselves as senior officers of the home department and assured them jobs. An assistant section officer (ASO), named as Baikunthanath Naik actually works in the home department. The accused Naik impersonated the home officer and created a fake identity card in his name,” an EOW officer said.
The 38 job aspirants paid nearly Rs 1.47 crore to the accused through cash and account transfer during May-November 2020.
After realising that they were cheated, the victims made several unsuccessful attempts to get their refunds. Recently, they lodged a complaint with the EOW.
“During house search of Naik, many incriminating documents including 12 ATM cards as well the fake ID card of home department’s assistant section officer (ASO) have been seized. All bank accounts have been frozen,” the officer said.
The EOW would probe if any staff of the OSSC connived with the conmen in the scam.
It must be noted that the credibility of the OSSC, which conducts examinations for Group-B and C posts of different government departments, came under attack following the arrest of Biranchi Narayan Sahoo, a former private secretary of the commission’s member, in July last year for allegedly possessing huge disproportionate assets.
The vigilance had seized many recruitment related documents, including admit cards of some applicants of government jobs.