In a swift cross-state operation, Angul District Cyber Crime Police arrested a cyber fraudster from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, who allegedly duped a local resident of ₹7.20 lakh by sending a malicious “RTO Challan” APK file through WhatsApp.
The victim, Sukanta Kumar Pradhan (49) of Kankarai village under Nisha police limits, received the fake APK file from an unknown number on October 10, 2025. After installing it, believing it to be a genuine traffic challan application, ₹7.20 lakh was siphoned off in multiple unauthorised transactions from his HDFC Bank account.
Following the complaint lodged on October 12, a case (No. 20/2025) was registered at Cyber Crime & Economic Offence PS, Angul, under Sections 318(4)/319(2) BNS and Section 66-D of the IT Act.
A special team led by Inspector Santosh Kumar Jena traced the money trail and mobile SIM details, which led them to Prayagraj. On the raid, the accused — Md. Adil, son of Md. Akil, a resident of Jalalpur Ghosi, was apprehended from the Airport Police Station area. He was brought to Angul on transit remand.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime. Police recovered ₹7 lakh directly credited to his Bank of Baroda account in two transactions. He had already transferred and spent part of the defrauded money.
Items seized from the accused include a smartphone, an ATM card, Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID, driving licence, and a mobile shop bill.
Angul Police commended the investigating team — Inspector Santosh Ku Jena, Constables Anil Ku Sahu, Rohit Ku Majhi, and Soumya Ranjan Majhi — for cracking the case within weeks through technical surveillance and coordinated action.
