Odisha: Bogus insurance agent dupes retired homeopathy doctor of Rs 4.57 lakh; held

Odisha: An Odisha based retired homeopathy doctor was duped of rupees 4.57 lacs by a young woman posing as an insurance agent, who was later arrested for the for fraud.

The doctor, who fell prey to the fraudster is identified as Dr Bijay Kumar Pradhan. It so happened that the 29-year-old accused's mother was an agent of a private Finance Company and due to her illness, she took the help of her daughter who started contacting several residents of Talcher as an insurance agent. The accused woman came in contact with the retired doctor as an insurance agent and maintained a cordial and friendly relationship with him. She also paid a visit to the doctor's residence with her sick mother.

Shortly, after befriending the medical practitioner, the young woman allegedly exploited the trust of the doctor and gained access to all the information regarding the ATM card and also managed to get hold of the PIN number of it. She later transferred rupees 4.57 Lakhs from the doctor's account to her own accounts in form of installments.

The doctor got to know that this amount is missing from his account when he updated his Passbook of State Bank of India after which he lodged a complaint in Talcher police station. The police immediately started an investigation and arrested the accused woman under Section 420 of IPC.

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The Talcher police have already registered a case of fraud against the woman and placed her under arrest.

Commenting on the matter, Angul SP Jagmohan Meena told The New Indian Express, "Two cases have been lodged against the woman at Talcher and Colliery police stations. The case registered at Talcher PS claims to cheat of Rs 4.57 lakh while the case lodged at Colliery PS claims to cheat of Rs 1.05 lakh. She was arrested on August 4 and is in judicial custody now. The investigation is underway in connection with both the cases."

As per the daily, the accused also duped a Mahanadi Coalfield Limited (MCL) employee of Colliery of Rs 1.5 lakh by taking blank cheque from him. Police also speculated that the woman may be involved with two more cases where two other people in the area are also duped of around Rs 2 crore.