The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch has arrested two persons from Mumbai on the charge of duping a real estate developer. The accused were identified as Rakes Pandey and Sarman Singh Tomar.
Both were arrested on March 26 and brought to Odisha on transit remand. While Tomar runs an illegal Hawala business, Pandey, a native of Uttar Pradesh, is a hardcore criminal and extortionist having multiple criminal cases pending against him in Maharashtra and UP.
Both were arrested on a complaint filed by Ashok Kumar Singh, who had alleged that Tomar and Pansey duped him of Rs 2 crore on the pretext of financing Rs 100 crore for his business. Singh, who is into real estate business in Odisha, had suffered heavy losses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In June 2021, Singh came in contact with Pandey who promised him of arranging Rs 100 crore. However, Pandey demanded Rs 2 crores so that the fund could be raised immediately.
“The complainant went to Mumbai and arranged Rs 2 crore with the help of his business partner and paid the amount to the accused persons,” the EOW said.