Extortionist held for posing as Nitin Nabin PA

Berhampur: Police on Saturday arrested a 28-year-old man for allegedly extorting money by impersonating the personal assistant of BJP national president Nitin Nabin.The accused was identified as Jagannath Mandal, a resident of Panchama under Golanthara police station in Ganjam district. He allegedly demanded Rs 50,000 from the complainant on April 1 through WhatsApp for party work.He also allegedly threatened to lodge a complaint against the complainant with the MLA. The complainant lodged a complaint at the Town police station on Friday, police said. A similar complaint was also lodged by another man at Bada Bazaar police station.The complainant was working under Chikiti MLA Manoranjan Dyansamantara. The caller claimed to be the PA of the BJP national president and demanded Rs 50,000 for party work on April 1.

When questioned about his identity, the caller allegedly threatened to lodge a false complaint with Nitin Nabin. Based on the complaints, police registered cases against the accused at Bada Bazaar and Town police stations.SP (Berhampur) Saravana Vivek M said the preliminary probe revealed that the accused had been arrested on Dec 13, 2024, in a cheating case. He resided in Surat, Gujarat, and Berhampur interchangeably and was engaged in fraudulent activities, including making hoax calls to political workers while impersonating personal assistants of prominent political figures, he said.

Police advised people to remain vigilant against impersonation and fraudulent calls and urged them to verify the identity and credentials of anyone claiming to represent political leaders, parties, or govt officials before responding to financial demands or sharing sensitive information. Any suspicious calls of this nature should be reported to the nearest police station immediately, the SP said.