The cyber wing of the Odisha State Crime Branch has arrested two individuals for allegedly defrauding a Kalinganagar resident in Jajpur district of ₹1.08 crore through a sophisticated online betting scam.
The accused have been identified as Sk Wasiul Islam alias Rohan (29), a resident of Raipur under Contai Police Station in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district, and Jyoti Prakash Pallai (36) from Press Colony, Unit-III, Bhubaneswar. Islam is reportedly involved in the sports goods and cashew trade, while Pallai, a diploma holder in engineering, works in the construction sector.
According to an official release, the case was registered based on a complaint filed on May 1 by the victim, who claimed he was lured into the scam through a fake cricket betting website found via a Google search. The fraud occurred over a period stretching from August 2022 to January 2025.
Initially enticed by small returns, the victim was manipulated into transferring a total of ₹1.08 crore via UPI transactions. These payments were made not only from his own account but also from those of his wife, friends, and staff members, under the illusion of receiving doubled or tripled returns from online betting.
Following the FIR lodged at the Jajpur district Cyber Police Station of the CID-Crime Branch, a team led by DySP Anila Anand launched a thorough investigation. The probe was triggered by multiple complaints received via the 1930 Cyber Helpline and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
Investigators uncovered that the accused were running fake gaming and phishing websites designed to harvest sensitive banking details. These were then used to create mule bank accounts and facilitate the transfer of large sums of money. Several such bank accounts have been frozen as part of the investigation.
Authorities also seized key evidence, including bank passbooks, cheques, mobile phones, SIM cards, GST certificates, Aadhaar and PAN cards, indicating a well-planned fraudulent operation disguised as an online gaming platform.
The investigation is ongoing to identify additional members of the racket and trace the full extent of the money trail.
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