Bhubaneswar, December 12: Two persons were arrested for allegedly impersonating Vigilance officers and extorting Rs 4 lakh from a senior Odisha Administrative Officer (OAS) in the State, Vigilance Directorate said on Friday.

The accused duo has been identified as Ganesh Prasad Nanda of Mendhamal village under Birmaharajpur police station of Subarnapur district and his relative Pradeep Kumar Panda.

According to an official release, the two fraudsters have been arrested for allegedly extorting Rs 4 lakh from a senior OAS officer in two instalments by claiming to be Vigilance Officers by threatening him to entangle in Vigilance case.

“Both the accused persons were working in tandem in execution of the offence. Nanda used different mobile numbers showing himself as Vigilance Officer in Truecaller ID. They threatened Govt. officials alleging bribery, misuse of funds and extorted money for not conducting raids and DA searches,” the statement read.

Acting on a tip-off, Vigilance a team of Odisha Vigilance kept a close watch on the two accused persons. On December 11, joint team of Odisha Vigilance and Rourkela Police nabbed them from Mendhamal village under Biramaharajpur police station for cheating and extortion.

In this connection, a case has been registered at Bonai Police Station under several sections of BNS, and IT Act,2005.

They have been arrested on multiple charges including cheating by impersonating as Vigilance Officers and for extortion by giving threats, and are being forwarded today to the court. Investigation underway.