The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the state crime branch on Tuesday arrested a serial fraudster and seized assets worth nearly Rs20 crore, including luxury cars, DJ-fitted vehicles, and other high-value equipment. The accused has been identified as Rama Narayan Bal.
Police said a cheating case was registered against Bal, who is in his 30s, on October 29 after nine individuals accused him of duping them of Rs20 crore. He allegedly promised to facilitate the purchase of land from a nationalised bank, claiming the properties were being auctioned due to loan defaults.
Investigations revealed that Bal, who worked with a finance firm during 2023–24, posed as a senior officer of a nationalised bank to gain the trust of prospective buyers. To make the fraud appear legitimate, he produced forged documents, fabricated sale agreements, and issued fake land sale quotations. Officers said he even used counterfeit bank seals and forged the signature of a deputy general manager to authenticate the fake paperwork.
“The victims transferred large sums without independently verifying the auction details with the bank,” a senior EOW official said.
Further probing uncovered that Bal had previously been booked in multiple cheating cases across Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and Angul districts. Using the proceeds of crime, he allegedly accumulated extensive movable and immovable assets.
On December 20, the EOW conducted simultaneous searches at Bal’s residence in Bhadrak and his business premises in Bhadrak and Bhubaneswar. During the raids, officials seized 10 vehicles, mobile phones, DJ sound systems, photography equipment, and other valuables linked to the scam.
Police said further investigation is underway to identify additional victims and trace the full extent of the money trail.
