Koida police arrested Bijay Kumar Pradhan, a 43-year-old resident of CRP Square, Bhubaneswar, for allegedly cheating over 300 people by promising loans under government schemes.
The scam unraveled after a complaint by Birendra Prasad Bahadur from Kerketta Sahi village, who had paid Rs 1,400 in April as a loan processing fee to Josada Patra, claiming to be an area coordinator of ‘Sashakta Odisha’ under the Mukhyamantri Kamadhenu Yojana. Suspecting foul play due to lack of updates, Bahadur contacted the Block Veterinary Officer and found the scheme was fake.
Police investigation revealed Pradhan once ran a news portal named ‘Sashakta Odisha’ and had employed unsuspecting villagers as agents. These agents collected money by offering fake loans under schemes like Mukhyamantri Kamadhenu Yojana and Mudra Yojana.
Sub Inspector Debasis Senapaty of Koida police confirmed, “The accused confessed during interrogation. Various forged documents including application forms, Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, PAN cards, and bank passbooks have been seized.” The police are continuing investigations to identify more victims and accomplices.
