Overview
- Police say a 36-year-old man identified as Himangshu Samal alias Jitu was arrested on Monday after a 23-year-old hostel resident in Bhubaneswar accused him of raping her following a job scam.
- The victim paid Rs 30,000 to a fraudster who had promised work, and the fraud network later routed about Rs 2 lakh into her bank account, which alarmed her and her family.
- Investigators say the accused used a phone displaying a police profile picture to impersonate an officer and then persuaded the woman to meet him in the Dhauli area before taking her to a hotel in Pipili.
- The survivor and her mother filed a written complaint at Dhauli police station on Sunday and officers registered a Zero FIR so the case could be investigated promptly across jurisdictions.
- Beyond the criminal case, officials and coverage highlight a pattern where job scams use victims' bank accounts to intimidate them, a tactic that may prompt more policing of such frauds and warnings to job seekers.