EOW arrests Uttar Pradesh man for duping businessman of Rs 2.35 crore

BHUBANESWAR: The economic offences wing (EOW) of the state crime branch on Friday arrested a man from Uttar Pradesh for allegedly duping a Keonjhar-based businessman of Rs 2.35 crore by luring him with the promise of high returns in a life insurance policy he had bought.
The accused was identified as Bijay Bharadwaj, a resident of Etah district in Uttar Pradesh. His associate Himanshu Bhandari was arrested in March.
Pramod Kumar Rout, the businessman from Joda area of mineral-rich Keonjhar district, had purchased an insurance policy of an undisclosed amount in March 2012. He received a call in October 2019 from one A K Walia, who posed himself as a senior officer from the ministry of finance (fund releasing division) posted in Hyderabad.
Walia told the complainant that he was selected to receive Rs 3 crore from the Prime Minister national relief fund towards his life insurance policy. He then sent a letter issued by Suresh Mathur of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). Walia asked Rout to pay a few lakhs of rupees as dues, an EOW officer said.
Rout ignored the letter and kept quiet. After some days, he was flooded with calls from different numbers and men, who posed as officers from the finance ministry and IRDA. They warned Rout that they would freeze his accounts if he did not pay the dues.
Out of fear, Rout agreed to pay the money. Without verifying the credentials of the unknown callers, Rout transferred Rs 2.35 crore from November19, 2019 to February 4, 2021. The fraudsters last year sent two demand drafts worth Rs 1.98 crore to Rout. But they turned out to be fake, the EOW officer said.