Bhubaneswar, May 5: Police arrested a 45-year-old man for allegedly cheating an entrepreneur worth Rs 60 lakh.

The accused, Santosh Sahu, a native of Soro in Balasore district, had taken the money from Pratap Shankar Mishra, owner of a city-based stabiliser manufacturing company to give him four air-conditioned buses.

“I had given him the money in phases in three years. So far, he had handed over only a single bus. He had given forged registration certificate (RC) books. After conducting an inquiry, we came to know that bank loans were pending against two buses, which he had promised to sell,” alleged Mishra.

Mishra also alleged that Sahu had taken Rs 20 lakh for providing him permit for the buses. “He had taken Rs 5 lakh for route permit for each bus but forged the documents,” said Patia resident Mishra.

Mishra had given the amount through cash and bank deposits. “We have been asking him to hand over the buses for the past two years, but he is delaying the process. Finally, he gave us the RC books, but when we inquired, we got to know that those documents were forged,” he said.

The police said the accused came in contact with the complainant in 2010 when Sahu’s bus was detained at Laxmannath check gate in Balasore for evading sales tax. Later, Sahu approached Mishra to pay Rs 5.76 lakh as the detained bus was carrying raw materials needed for stabiliser manufacturing company of Mishra.

The police said that after that incident, Sahu befriended Mishra and later promised him to hand over four 51-seater air-conditioned buses. “The accused was arrested under several sections, including 420 (cheating) 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471(using as genuine a forged document), of the Indian Penal Code,” said inspector in charge of Chandrasekharpur police station Sarat Sahu.