25-04-2025
Man held for stealing Rs 4.15L by staging fake snatching
Berhampur: Police arrested a complainant, who staged a
fake cash snatching
incident to steal over Rs 4.15 lakh from his employer, a jaggery trader, in Berhampur. The accused,
Ashok Kumar Panigrahy
of Gandala, was reportedly driven by mounting debts from IPL cricket betting and house construction.
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The incident came to light when Panigrahy, who handled financial transactions for the trader for two years, filed a complaint at Nimakhandi police station on Tuesday. He claimed two unidentified motorcyclists snatched his bag containing Rs 4.15 lakh at Marthapalli Chhaka while he was en route to deposit the money in the bank.
"During investigation, we found no evidence of the alleged snatching in CCTV footage. Upon further interrogation, Panigrahy confessed to staging the crime," said SP (Berhampur) Saravana Vivek M.
The entire amount of Rs 4,15,620 was recovered from a house in Gandala where the accused had hidden it.
Police investigation revealed that Panigrahy was under pressure from creditors, who frequently visited his house for repayment. "The accused saw this as an opportunity to solve his financial crisis stemming from IPL betting losses and house construction loans," the SP added. The recovered amount was returned to the trader on Friday.
