Cyber fraud! Odisha youth arrested over suspicious Rs 1.25 crore transactions

In a joint operation, police from Anandapur and Nandipada arrested an alleged cyber fraud accused from Jamitira village in Bhadrak district on Sunday.

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The accused, identified as Atish Panda — son of a PET teacher from a school in Gedma — was taken into custody after authorities received inputs about suspicious financial activity in an account at Canara Bank in Anandapur.

Police found that transactions exceeding Rs 1 crore had taken place within just one month through the account, raising red flags. Following a detailed investigation, separate teams from Anandapur and Nandipada police stations tracked and arrested the accused.

During the operation, officials seized multiple items, including a bank passbook, ATM cards, SIM cards and an Aadhaar card of Atish Panda. Police are continuing further investigation to trace possible links to a wider cyber fraud network.

“As part of the ongoing ‘Cyber Kavach’ operation in our district, Anandapur police have arrested a cybercriminal. This follows a complaint filed on the NCRB portal regarding a Rs 2,000 transaction. During verification, it was discovered that a massive amount of money had been transacted through that account,” Anandapur SDPO, Kamal Kumar Panda, said in a press conference.

“Upon further investigation, it was ascertained that Atish had opened a current account at Anandapur branch of Canara Bank on November 27, 2023. By December 16, 2024, more than Rs 1.25 crore had been transacted through this account. Our preliminary probe indicates that this money consists of funds defrauded from cybercrime victims,” the SDPO stated.

A case (No. 46/24) has been registered at the Anandapur Police Station under sections 317(2), 318(4), and 336(3) of the BNS, as well as sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act.

“We arrested Atish Kumar Panda and have seized 11 ATM cards, two SIM cards, five Aadhaar cards (belonging to him and his family members), and a mobile phone. Our investigation reveals that he is not working alone; multiple criminals are involved at various levels, and the investigation is underway,” the SDPO expressed.

“Every cybercrime leaves a digital footprint, and we have evidence showing from which accounts the money originated and where it was transferred. We have information regarding the second tier of criminals involved and will arrest them soon,” the SDPO asserted.

“While we have currently analysed only the Canara Bank account, which shows transactions over Rs 1.25 crore, the accused also has accounts in eight other banks, including Indian Overseas Bank (Ghasipura), Bank of India (Hatadihi), Odisha Gramya Bank (Basantia), UCO Bank (Banta), RBL (Jajpur Road), Bank of Maharashtra (Jajpur Road), Indian Bank, Allahabad Bank, and SBI. We are investigating whether funds from cybercrimes were transacted through these accounts as well,” the senior cop further said.

“I appeal to the public not to share their bank accounts, ATM cards, IDs, passwords, or corporate IDs with others in pursuit of quick money. Please discourage children from playing online games involving cash transactions, as these are often connected to cybercrime. Additionally, do not respond to unknown video calls, SMS, or phone calls, as you could become a victim of cybercrime,” SDPO Panda added.

Reported By: Muna Singh