Odisha university's VC loses Rs 14 lakh in 'digital arrest' fraud, 2 nabbed from Gujarat

BERHAMPUR: Two persons were arrested from Gujarat for allegedly defrauding the vice chancellor of Odisha's Berhampur University, Geetanjali Dash, of Rs 14 lakh, police said on Sunday. Identifying themselves as Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers, the accused reached out to Dash, claiming that she was involved in a money laundering case, they said.

She was kept under "digital arrest" from February 14 to 22, and asked to deposit all her cash for a priority investigation. Accordingly, she transferred Rs 14 lakh to them, police said.

Eventually, they returned her Rs 80,000 with the assurance that the rest would be given after verification. However, she did not get back the rest of the money, they said Dash filed a complaint with the police on February 24, following which the arrests were made from Bhavnagar in Gujarat earlier last week.

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Those arrested were identified as Bhutaiya Jenil Jaysukhbhai (23) and Vishwajeetsinh Gohil (21), police said. The accused were brought to Berhampur on a five-day transit remand on Saturday, they said. Several incriminating items, including mobile phones and Aadhar cards, were seized from them, police said.

Superintendent of Police of Berhampur Saravana Vivek M said the duo was part of a gang involved in several cyber crimes in various parts of the country. "Efforts are being made to arrest the other members of the gang. Investigation is underway to trace their pan-India network and map the complete money trail," he said.