Woman makes Sundergarh contractor friend on Facebook and 'dupes' him of Rs 15 lakh

A woman along with his three family members was arrested for allegedly duping a contractor of Rs 15 lakh in Odisha's Sundergarh.

The victim has been identified as Sumit Mishra who is a resident of Biramitrapur area in the district. The main accused Jharana Badi and her associates were arrested after Mishra lodged a complaint in this regard at the local police station.

As per the allegation by Mishra, the main accused developed friendship with him through Facebook by impersonating her as a jewellery shop and truck owner. Subsequently, she called Mishara to a hotel in Sundergarh to show a business plan by luring him of huge profits. She also asked the victim to bring Rs 15 lakh with him.

While discussing the plan with Mishra, the woman allegedly fled away from the hotel by replacing the money bag with another bag in a tactful manner.

Following the development, Mishra lodged a complaint at the local police station. After registering a case in this connection, Sundergarh police started an investigation into the incident and arrested Jharana from Hirakud area in Sambalpur. Jharana’s husband Subas Tanti, her sister Rajkumari and brother Jubaraj were also arrested in this connection.

Police have also seized Rs 8.5 lakh, more than 15 fake Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, bank passbooks, duplicate gold rings and necklaces from their possession. As per police sources, Jharana was running a racket with the help of her family members to dupe people.

“The four accused were duping people by developing friendships with them through Facebook and luring them of huge profit by giving business plans,” said Sundargarh Additional SP, Prashant Kumar Dash.

Jharana has reportedly confessed that they had earlier duped people in similar manner in Jharsuguda. “A similar kind of case was registered by a person in Jharsuguda. However, we have returned his entire amount,” claimed Jharana.