Odisha Police on Friday arrested Ganesh Prasad Nanda and his brother-in-law Pradeep Kumar Panda for allegedly impersonating Vigilance officials and extorting money from government officers, officials said.
The arrests followed a complaint by a senior OAS officer, who alleged that the duo had extorted Rs 4 lakh from him. Nanda, posing as Tripathy Babu, an Additional SP-rank Vigilance officer, claimed that a disproportionate assets case had been registered against the complainant. He initially demanded Rs 8 lakh to “settle” the matter, later agreeing to Rs 4 lakh, which was transferred to his bank account.
Police investigations revealed that Nanda, a habitual fraudster, and Panda had been targeting government officials over the phone since 2021, threatening raids and social embarrassment. The duo reportedly extorted money from 18–20 officials across Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Deogarh, and other districts by misusing the name of the Vigilance Department.
Authorities recovered 38 debit cards, passbooks of 43 banks, 37 chequebooks, 10 mobile phones, and other documents from the accused. Police are currently verifying the bank accounts and assets of the duo as part of the ongoing investigation.
