Odisha police detain fraud and extortion suspects in separate cases

Police in Bhubaneswar arrested Ashish Kumar Samal after he posed as a senior Odisha Secretariat Inquiry Officer, conducting fake raids in Puri and Konark, extorting money and renting a luxury vehicle on false pretenses. Authorities say Samal used forged government IDs to intimidate business owners and left unpaid rental bills exceeding ₹1.5 lakh before being apprehended.

In Puri, investigators detained two Madhya Pradesh natives, Satendra Sharma of Gwalior and 19‑year‑old Atul Kaurav of Bhind, for extorting ₹19.5 million from a 24‑year‑old woman. The men recorded explicit videos without her knowledge, blackmailed her for money, and threatened further release of the footage. The victim reported the crime to cyber‑crime officials, leading to the arrests after a probe that traced transfers to the suspects' accounts.