Bhubaneswar: Cracking down on a series of online investment frauds worth crores of rupees, the Cyber Crime Unit of the Odisha Crime Branch arrested five individuals from different parts of the country.

In connection with Case No. 50/2024 registered at the CID-CB Cyber Crime Police Station, the investigating team arrested Hiteshbhai Patra from Surat, Gujarat, for an investment fraud of ₹1.28 crore. Patra, a native of Balasore, Odisha, currently residing in Surat as a website developer and designer, was identified as the first-layer account holder, with ₹27 lakh directly deposited into his account. Seized from his possession were six bank cheque books, 31 debit/credit cards, 13 rubber stamps of various fake companies, 12 mobile handsets, multiple SIM cards, four pen drives, and eight  Government and non-Government ID cards.

In connection with Case No. 60/2024, the Crime Branch team arrested Parth Parmar from Ahmedabad for committing investment fraud amounting to ₹7.5 crore. Parmar, also a first-layer account holder, had ₹25 lakh directly deposited into his account. A mobile phone, Aadhaar card, and PAN card were recovered from him.

In another case (No. 57/2024), two individuals—Thakkar Karsanji Sobhaji and Kureshi Mohammed Aslam—were arrested from Gujarat for an investment fraud involving ₹87.8 lakh. Thakkar Karsanji, identified as a first-layer account holder, had ₹9.3 lakh deposited into his account, while Kureshi Mohammed, another first-layer account holder, had ₹6 lakh deposited. Mobile phones, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards were seized from both accused.

Additionally, in Case No. 03/2025, Akash Kesharwani from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested for his involvement in an investment fraud worth ₹1.4 crore. He was found to be a second-layer account holder, with ₹3.7 lakh transferred into his account. During interrogation, Kesharwani revealed four other current accounts had been used for similar fraudulent activities.

Crime Branch officials stated investigations are ongoing and efforts are underway to trace other accomplices, unravel the crime’s pan-India network, and follow the money trail.