Daijiworld Media Network - Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Apr 16: Commissionerate Police have apprehended a 26-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh for his alleged role in an online investment fraud worth Rs 71.74 lakh, officials confirmed on Wednesday.

The accused, Harshit Kant Pandey from Kanpur district, was arrested in connection with Case No. 309/24. The case was registered following a complaint filed by Sujata Sahoo on behalf of her sister, Deepika Sahoo, a resident of Bhubaneswar’s Nandankanan area.

According to police sources, Deepika, who currently lives abroad, came into contact with the fraudsters in 2024 while she was in Bhubaneswar. She was reportedly drawn in through a social media advertisement promoting lucrative investment opportunities.

Investigators revealed that the accused and his associates persuaded the victim to invest significant amounts of money by promising high returns. They repeatedly advised her to invest in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), claiming assured profits.

Trusting their claims, Deepika transferred a total of Rs 71,74,664 to multiple accounts as instructed by the fraudsters.

After analyzing financial transactions, call records, and other digital evidence, a team from the Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Police Station tracked down Pandey and arrested him from his hideout in Kanpur on Monday.

He was presented before a local court in Kanpur and subsequently brought to Odisha on transit remand. On Wednesday, he was produced in a Bhubaneswar court, which remanded him to judicial custody.

Further investigation revealed that Pandey had previously been arrested by Haryana Police in a separate cybercrime case. Authorities also noted that as many as 65 complaints have been registered against him on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), indicating his suspected involvement in multiple ongoing cyber fraud investigations.