Bhubaneswar: Chandrasekharpur police here on Tuesday arrested a couple in connection with an alleged land fraud case involving Rs 1.47 crore in the state capital. The accused were identified as Srimanta Kalas (63) and his wife Soumya Subhadarshini Kalas (43). A cheating case was registered at Chandrasekharpur police station on Jan 19 based on a complaint filed by Sudhir Kumar Panigrahi (41) of Kaibalya Vihar, Bhubaneswar.Police said the prime accused Srimanta allegedly posed as a land broker with close links to the owner of a plot in the posh Saheed Nagar area and persuaded the complainant to purchase the property. “Panigrahi paid around Rs 1.47 crore to the accused between Jan 2021 and Aug 2022. The payments included Rs 1 crore through bank transactions and Rs 47.6 lakh in cash,” a police officer said.Police said Kalas allegedly failed to execute and register the sale deed despite repeated assurances. Subsequent verification reportedly revealed that he had no legitimate connection with the actual landowner and allegedly used forged or fabricated documents to facilitate the fraud.During the probe, police officers found that the alleged cheated money was diverted to two industrial ventures where Soumya Subhadarshini served as a director. The investigating officer examined the complainant and other witnesses, recorded their statements and collected documentary as well as banking transaction evidence.Acting on the findings, police conducted raids on Tuesday afternoon and arrested the couple from a location in Bhubaneswar. Police also seized documents, including an MoU and banking transaction records linked to the case. Police said the probe is underway to trace the complete money trail, assess the extent of the alleged fraud and determine whether other persons were involved.
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