Bhubaneswar police has arrested a 34-year-old man for duping 50 women of lakhs of rupees posing himself as a police officer. For over two years, Satyajit Managobind Samal would allegedly find and chat with women on matrimonial sites and apps, coax them into relationships and then swindle them out of lakhs of rupees. He was caught in his own web.
Police Samal for allegedly preying on at least 50 women in the state, many of them divorced. According to the police, Samal, from the state’s Jajpur, was arrested from an upscale locality in Bhubaneswar after a senior woman police officer posed as one of his victims to help corner him, police sources said.
The arrests came on the back of police complaints from two women.
First, Samal would allegedly introduce himself as a police officer or an officer with the Intelligence Bureau looking for prospective matches on matrimonial sites. Once he became known to them, he would allegedly ask them for large amounts of cash for a new business, and blackmail and threaten them if they demanded repayment.
According to the police, Samal appears to have had marriage agreements with at least four women — including the two who filed complaints.
“After we checked his details in the matrimonial app, we came to know that he was in touch with at least 49 women. Besides two women who have already lodged FIRs, we contacted two others from outside Odisha with whom he has marriage agreements. He mostly targeted divorced women,” Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner Sanjeeb Panda said.
He would allegedly use the money to buy cars and lease them to taxi services. He also used the money to support a “lavish lifestyle”, frequently flying to Dubai, police said.
“Since the accused used to fly to Dubai frequently, it was a challenge for us to arrest him,” Panda said.
Investigations began after a woman lodged a complaint at Bhubaneswar’s Capital Police Station on February 26.
In her complaint, the woman claimed she had got in touch with Samal through a matrimonial site and that he eventually “forced” her to have a sexual relationship with him “on the promise of a marriage”. He then allegedly began demanding money.
The complainant claims she lent him a total of Rs 36 lakh — including a new car — by taking loans from various banks. When she demanded that he repay the money, he allegedly threatened her.
The second complaint, also registered in Bhubaneswar is similar, with this complainant putting the loaned amount at roughly Rs 11 lakh.
According to police sources, the senior woman officer pretended to be looking for a prospective partner on a matrimonial site and chatted with Samal for three months.
Once she became friendly with him, she asked to meet him and sought his address, sources said. Once he gave it, the police arrested him.
“We have arrested the accused with sufficient evidence of cheating and other allegations mentioned in the FIR. We are trying to locate his other victims and get them to join the investigation,” said a senior police officer.
Purported videos and chats with victims have been found from the suspect’s phone, the officer said, adding that there are allegations that he threatened some women with a weapon. Police said they have seized cash worth Rs 2.1 lakh, a four-wheeler and a Bullet motorcycle, one small arm and other ammunition, three mobile phones and two marriage certificates. They also froze bank accounts with Rs 1.75 lakh cash.
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