3 persons held in 2 separate cyber fraud cases

Bhubaneswar: The state crime branch on Friday arrested three persons, including a man from Bihar and a couple from Angul district, in connection with two separate cyber fraud cases amounting to Rs 3.5 crore.Prins Raj (31) of Begusarai in Bihar was taken into custody for his alleged role in an online trading scam. According to police officials, a Bhubaneswar-based businessman was duped of Rs 2.06 crore between Dec 2024 and March 2025.Unidentified fraudsters contacted the victim via WhatsApp on Dec 23, 2024, and auto-added him to a group. One member, posing as a fund manager from a reputed company, guided him into making investments. Over three months, the businessman transferred Rs 2,06,07,500 across 54 transactions to five different accounts.“Raj’s account received the bulk of the money. Several other suspects have already been arrested in connection with the case,” a crime branch officer said.In a separate operation, the crime branch arrested Angul residents Himansu Prasad Karna (36) and his wife Sailendri Karna (31). The couple allegedly duped another Bhubaneswar businessman of Rs 1.55 crore through a fraudulent investment scheme in April last year.