The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch police arrested a fraudster, who had impersonated an official of Research Analytical Wing (RAW) to deceive Rs 1.17 crore from a New Delhi-based industrialist.

The accused identified as Rajesh Gahlot was arrested from Sector-23, Dwaraka Police Station area in New Delhi. He is being brought to Odisha for judicial remand after the Metropolitan Magistrate, Dwaraka-10 allowed the transit remand prayer, said STF officials.

Earlier on 30 October, Suryamani Tripathy and Amit Kumar, two others involved in the offence, were arrested from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Search was on to arrest the third accused Gahlot, they said.

They were arrested on the basis of complaint Rikab Chand Munot, proprietor of Rashtriya Stainless Steel, Jindal House, Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi.

While Gahlot posed as an official of RAW, Tripathy and Kumar had impressed upon the victim that they were all India cadre civil servant and PWD engineer. The trio assured the complainant and his son to help them in getting high-value government contract work orders under “Pradhan Mantree Yojana” in Odisha. The unsuspecting complainant had later transferred Rs 1.17 crore to the accused duo’s bank account.

To take the industrialist for a ride, they had also saved the mobile phone numbers of senior IAS, IPS, OAS officers, and Judges on their phones to impress people, EOW officials said.

“The businessman and his son were promised high-value government contracts/ work orders under Pradhan Mantri Yojana in Odisha. In 2018, the accused Suryamani called them to EIC, Nirman Soudha in Bhubaneswar to execute an agreement with PWD. Later, Suryamani introduced them to Amit as an Engineer with PWD,” EOW said in a release.

“The accused Suryamani handed over two work orders to the complainant, purportedly issued by Assistant Engineer, EIC (Civil) Nirman Soudha for a contract value of Rs 3 and Rs 4 crore on March 15, 2018. On August 21, 2018, the accused handed over two work orders having contract value of Rs 32.52 crore and Rs 47.52 crore and asked the complainant to pay money on the pretext of expediting the process,” the release read.

However, the ‘inventive’ fraud was uncovered after Suryamani issued a fake letter, purportedly signed by the Accounts Officer EIC (Civil) Nirman Soudha to a private bank for transfer of Rs 4.68 crore to the company of the complainant towards payment of 20 percent advance against the work order.

It may be recalled here that the EOW had recently arrested a man, who impersonated as an official of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) to deceive a couple in Puri by making a fictitious agreement for the sale of ITDC Nilachal Ashok hotel in the pilgrim town of Puri.