Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police have arrested a 25-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh for allegedly impersonating a sales executive of Jindal Steel Pvt. Ltd. and duping a businessman from Bhubaneswar of more than Rs 11 lakh.

The accused, identified as Pradum Kumar from Bhojapur in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh, was apprehended on June 9 from his village under Sakaldiha police station limits. He was later produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chandauli, and brought to Bhubaneswar on a transit remand.

According to the FIR registered on May 22 at the Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Police Station in Bhubaneswar, the complainant, Mahesh Kumar Singh, had been searching online for a steel vendor and came across a toll-free number claiming to be associated with Jindal Steel. He was subsequently connected to a person posing as a company sales executive.

The fraudster convinced Singh to place an order for TMT steel and provided him with a forged proforma invoice featuring the Jindal Steel logo, design, and letterhead to appear genuine. Trusting the documents, Singh made two payments — Rs 1,25,300 via IMPS and Rs 10 lakh via NEFT/RTGS — to an Indian Overseas Bank account controlled by the accused.

Police said that the bank account used in the crime was registered in the name of Pradum Kumar. During the arrest, a mobile phone allegedly used in the scam was seized from his possession.

Police revealed that the accused and his accomplices have been targeting people by impersonating executives of reputed companies like Jindal Steel. They contact potential victims with fake business proposals, send forged invoices using company branding, and convince them to transfer large sums of money to bank accounts actually controlled by the fraudsters.

The Commissionerate Police have advised the public not to transfer money to unknown accounts without verification. They urged people to cross-check bank details with the respective companies and to report any suspicious cyber activity at www.cybercrime.gov.in or by calling the national cybercrime helpline number 1930. For cyber-related assistance in Bhubaneswar, the local helpline is 7440006709.