Impersonation and cheating case: Odisha STF nabs mastermind, major job racket suspected

The Special Task Force (STF) had recently arrested one person, who claimed to be an RTI activist, on charges of cheating and impersonation. Carrying out further probe, the STF has now arrested the mastermind, identified as Kanhu Charan Pradhan. Pradhan used to run a liquor shop and several cases were registered against him.

Earlier, the STF had arrested the fake RTI activist Kishore Kumar Mishra and recovered the fake ID of the I & PR Department of the Odisha government from his possession. The bank accounts of Kishore show credit of more than Rs 2 crore in the last 2 to 3 years with many bulk deposits.

STF officials said that Mishra was working on the instructions from Pradhan.

"Several people had saved Pradhan's number as secretary/ Addl secretary. Expensive mobile phones, forged/fake Govt notifications/orders and other incriminating documents have been seized from him. He had fled to Thailand and had recently returned to Odisha. It is also suspected that this group had published some fake job advertisements in some newspapers," said STF in a release.