45-year-old held for cheating parent of Rs 21 lakh with fake railway job promise in Odisha.

BERHAMPUR: A 45-year-old man was arrested by Odisha Police for allegedly duping a person of Rs 21 lakh by falsely promising to secure a loco pilot job in the railways for the complainant's son, officials said on Friday.The accused, Gadadhar Nath of Olatpur in Cuttack district, was arrested from the Aska area on Thursday, police said.According to the investigation, the complainant transferred the entire amount through online transactions during 2024-25, Aska Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) SR Pradhan said.To win the complainant's trust, Nath allegedly handed over a job offer letter and a joining letter purportedly issued by the Eastern Railway in Kolkata.However, when the complainant's son travelled to Kolkata to take up the job, the documents were found to be fake, police said."The letter did not contain any name or address and was found to be forged," Pradhan said.After discovering the fraud, the complainant confronted the accused and sought the return of the money. Nath allegedly assured him that the amount would be refunded within six months.When the promised repayment did not materialise, the complainant visited Nath's residence and again demanded his money back.

The accused allegedly abused him and chased him with a sword, police said.A complaint was subsequently lodged at Dhusuri police station. During a compromise reached on May 12, the accused agreed to return the money within four months and immediately paid Rs 3 lakh, police said.However, after allegedly failing to honour the agreement and abusing the complainant again, an FIR was registered at Aska police station, leading to Nath's arrest.Aska IIC S K Sahu said police were investigating whether any other job seekers had also been cheated by the accused.