Odisha Man Posing As Deputy CM’s PA Arrested For Duping Job Seekers
An Odisha man posing as a Deputy CM’s PA was arrested for allegedly duping job seekers of over ₹1 crore using fake appointment letters and political connections.
Odisha’s Bhadrak Town Police on Wednesday arrested a man from Digha in West Bengal for allegedly cheating several people of more than Rs 1 crore by promising them government jobs and posing as the personal assistant (PA) of an Odisha Deputy Chief Minister.
The accused, identified as Jagannath Bahalia of Chudakuti area in Dhamnagar, allegedly used photographs with senior political leaders to convince educated unemployed youths of his political connections. Police said he claimed to have access to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and the Prime Minister’s personal secretary.
Bahalia had been staying in a rented house at Jagannathpur under Bhadrak Town police limits. Recently, he allegedly collected Rs 10 lakh from a youth from Maitapur in Balasore district’s Simulia area by promising him a Railway job and later provided a purported appointment letter.
Following the complaint, police began looking for Bahalia. Police said he had allegedly duped another youth of lakhs of rupees by promising a teaching job and issuing a fake appointment letter. Several cases are reportedly pending against him in Bhadrak, Balasore and Cuttack districts.
After learning that police were pursuing him, Bahalia allegedly switched off his mobile phone and fled to Digha, where he was subsequently traced and arrested. A case (No. 544/26) has been registered and further investigation is underway to ascertain the extent of the alleged fraud and identify other victims.
“Bahalia always claimed to have connections with high-profile individuals. He introduced himself as a close associate of political leaders, ministers and MLAs. Using these false credentials, he gave assurances of providing jobs to several people and took more than a crore of rupees from them. He also issued fake appointment letters,” Bhadrak Town police station IIC Prabhanshu Mishra said.
A complainant, Saurav Mohapatra, said Bahalia initially demanded Rs 15 lakh for securing him a Railway job. After receiving the money and documents, he allegedly sent a call letter and fixed a date for joining at the DRM office in Khordha.
“My father had sold our land to pay Rs 15 lakh. He claimed to have the support of ministers and showed photographs with BJP leaders. He even claimed to be a Deputy CM’s PA,” Mohapatra said.