Bhubaneswar, Aug 31: Odisha Police have arrested a 27-year-old man from Gujarat’s Rajkot district for allegedly duping an engineer from the state of Rs 7 lakh in a sophisticated cyber fraud case.

The accused, identified as Vishal Ramesh Bhai Makhvana, a daily wage labourer with education only up to Class VIII, was apprehended from his native village and brought to Bhubaneswar on transit remand. He was produced before a local court on Saturday, police said.

Despite his limited formal education, Makhvana had acquired enough technical knowledge to orchestrate an elaborate scam. 

According to Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena, nearly Rs 3 lakh of the defrauded amount was transferred to his bank account. Police managed to freeze Rs 2 lakh during the investigation.

The case came to light after the victim, an engineer from Odisha, received a phone call from someone posing as a representative of a Mumbai-based courier company. The fraudster falsely claimed that a parcel addressed to the victim contained illegal drugs.

In a further escalation, the accused—dressed as a police officer—conducted a video call via Skype, during which he threatened the victim and ordered him not to leave his room. This intimidation tactic, referred to by police as a form of "digital arrest," was used to manipulate the victim into compliance.

During the video call, the fraudster coerced the victim into revealing sensitive personal and financial details. Upon discovering that the victim lacked sufficient funds in his bank account, the accused convinced him to apply for an online loan. As soon as the loan amount of Rs 6.94 lakh was disbursed, it was siphoned off by the fraudster.

Following the complaint at the Bhubaneswar Cyber Police Station, investigators tracked Makhvana to Gujarat and arrested him. Further investigation revealed that he is a repeat offender, wanted in over 25 cyber fraud cases across various states, using similar methods of impersonation and fear-based manipulation.

Tags: prameyanews