Lecturer Arrested for Cheating Rs 7 Lakh Posing as IPS Officer

Bhubaneswar: Commissionerate Police has arrested one Manoj Kumar Majhi for cheating a contractor of more than Rs 7 lakh by impersonating as a senior IPS officer and Superintendent of Police in the state vigilance department.

Thirty-four-year-old Majhi is a resident of Krushnaprasad block in Puri district. Majhi used to serve as a psychology lecturer at a College in the Udala area of Mayurbhanj district. It was found that he was involved in cheating people through various means.

On May 31, 2023, Manoj Kumar Choudhury, a native of Rayagada district, filed a complaint at the cyber police station in Bhubaneswar that an unknown person had duped the complainant of Rs 7, 60,000.

Investigation of this case led to the arrest of Majhi. Cash worth Rs 2.6 lakh, six ATM cards, and other incriminating materials were seized from his possession.

Investigation has revealed that Majhi contacted contractor  Choudhury, over the telephone identifying himself as a senior IPS officer and the Superintendent of Police in the Vigilance department.

The cheat offered the contractor help to procure the contract to construct buildings of the vigilance department at Therubali and Rayagada. In return, Majhi demanded Rs 5 lakh as advance, which Choudhury paid him in April 2023. Later Majhi also took another Rs 2.6 lakh from Choudhury.

When Choudhury realized that he had been cheated, he approached the police.

Investigation has revealed that Majhi was involved in five other similar cheating cases including one case registered by the Economic Offence Wing of the state crime branch.