Bhubaneswar, June 5: Kharavela Nagar police today arrested a man for cheating a number of job aspirants of more than Rs 50 lakh.
Police said the accused, Shakti Ranjan Das, had cheated many youths promising to provide jobs in State Bank of India (SBI) Life Insurance. Das, who is the son of an undersecretary of State Transport Authority (STA), hails from Joda in Keonjhar.
“He (Das) was arrested today with the help of some youths and we will forward him to the court tomorrow,” said a police officer. Around 15 students today lodged a complaint with the police against the accused. According to Rudra Prasad Sahu, a bachelors student who hailed from Choudwar area in Cuttack, Das cheated his of one lakh rupees.
Sahu met Das while the former stayed at Sastri Nagar. He promised him a job in SBI life insurance and demanded one lakh rupees. “I gave him Rs 50,000 in first phase and the rest later. He gave me a job and I worked under him for nearly six months for a salary of Rs 5,000 a month. The he told me my training period was over and I could not contact him thereafter,” said Sahu.
Many other students have also been allegedly cheated by Shakti Ranjan in the last one year. The complaints alleged that the accused had cheated more than 50 persons promising to provide them jobs. He has taken different amounts from different students and the total amount would cross Rs 50 lakh.
The complainants alleged that after taking all the money, he disappeared from the city and could not be contacted. “Later, we contacted him and laid a trap to capture him. We told him that two other students wanted jobs and were ready to pay the amount. When he came to the city, we caught him and handed him over to the police,” said Priyabrata Swain, another person who has been cheated.
Police said they got complaints against Das and he has been booked under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code following the complaints. He was forwarded to the court in the evening.
“We are investigating the matter and the total amount of cheating will be confirmed soon. Besides, we are also checking whether any other persons are involved in this cheating case,” said a police officer.
