Doctor’s mother 'duped' of Rs 17 lakh by neighbour on promise to free arrested son

A woman, Yashoda Das, in Cuttack was allegedly duped to the tune of Rs 17 lakh by a man who promised to dismiss the police case against her doctor son.

The accused has been identified as Sambit Samal who is a neighbour of the complainant.

As per the report, Dr Punyashlok Mishra and his wife were arrested by Cuttack Police on Friday on the charge of conducting illegal sex determination tests. However, following the arrests, Punyashlok’s mother, Yashoda was allegedly approached by their neighbour Sambit Samal who promised her to dismiss the police case against her son for Rs 20 lakh.

Samal reportedly assured Yashoda to spend some money at the police station and in the court to free her son. Believing him, Yashoda reportedly gave Rs 17 lakh to Samal. When the police forwarded the doctor and his wife to the court, Yashoda demanded the money back from Samal. However, Samal refused to return the money and allegedly abused her.

A frustrated Yashoda, filed a complaint at Mangalabag Police Station against Samal, following which a probe has been launched to nab the accused.

Speaking about the case, Cuttack Additional DCP Anil Mishra said, “The case is about Ponyashloka Das and his wife who were arrested under PNDT Act and forwarded to court. The doctor’s mother has alleged that her neighbour Sambit Samal has cheated Rs 17 lakh from her promising to free her son from the police. A case has been registered at Mangalabag Police Station and we are investigating the matter.”

A team from the health department and local police conducted a surprise raid on the house of Das located at Friends Colony in Cuttack on allegations of sex determination tests on pregnant women on Friday. The accused doctor is reportedly engaged at Deogarh District Headquarters Hospital (DHH).

If reports are to be believed, the raid team had rescued a patient with a bag containing cash. However, Das had refuted the allegations and called it baseless.