Bhubaneswar: The Infocity Police arrested a 51-year-old man from West Bengal on Sunday for allegedly duping several individuals out of around Rs 3 crore by posing as the son of a former Lok Sabha member and the CEO of a private company. The accused, identified as Sachidananda Bhoi, resides in Kendupali, under the Bheden police limits in the Baragada district, and was living in Phulnakhara in Kataka district at the time of his arrest.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Zone-VI, Manas Ranjan Pradhan, informed the media that Bhoi impersonated the son of ex-MP Krupasindhu Bhoi to deceive many people. Pradhan further revealed that Bhoi had established an office for Go Speedy Go (HIFERK Technologies Pvt Ltd), an auto-tech company specializing in on-demand, doorstep vehicle servicing, located in Patia, Bhubaneswar.
Bhoi, claiming to be the CEO and Director of the auto-tech firm, hired several individuals as employees at his office. He also set up additional offices in Khandagiri, Bhubaneswar, and in Ganjam district. Allegedly, he convinced individuals to acquire franchises of his company by promising comprehensive business support, guaranteed profits, and assured business. Furthermore, he recruited employees by promising them regular salaries, according to police reports.
The fraudster primarily targeted his employees, encouraging them to recruit their relatives and family members as franchisees. Many individuals, believing in his assurances, invested between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh each to obtain a franchise. The investigation revealed that Bhoi allegedly misappropriated approximately Rs 2.30 crore collected from franchise holders and around Rs 63 lakh intended for employee salaries. He failed to deliver the promised services to franchise holders and did not pay salaries to employees.
After closing his offices, he went into hiding to evade capture. ACP Pradhan stated that the police have received complaints against Bhoi from approximately 200 to 250 individuals, with the total alleged fraud amount exceeding Rs 3 crore. Following the investigation, police apprehended the accused from his hideout near the India-Nepal border in the Kharibari police station area of Darjeeling district in West Bengal. He was subsequently presented before a local court in Siliguri and brought to Odisha on transit remand. Pradhan noted that the Commissionerate Police would seek the court’s permission to remand the accused for further investigation.
During the investigation, authorities discovered that Bhoi was also involved in several other cases registered with the Crime Branch police station, the Special Crime Unit, Sahid Nagar, Pahal police station, and the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Jharsuguda.
