8 hours ago
Lured by online betting, BTech student stages his own abduction in Cuttack
CUTTACK: In a bid to extract money from his parents to invest in online betting, a 22-year-old BTech student allegedly faked his own abduction and tried to get Rs 50,000 from them. The youth, Shubham Samal, was caught hold by police after a two-day intensive search, on Monday.
Police said Samal, a resident of Gadasantri within Banarpal police limits in Angul, is pursuing BTech at Silicon Institute of Technology in Bhubaneswar.
The cops had began an investigation from Saturday after receiving a complaint from Shubham's elder sister Rupali.
As per Rupali, Shubham had come to her residence at OSAP 6th Battalion campus in OMP Square in Cuttack a few days back. She stated that Shubham had called their father up on June 20 alleging he had been kidnapped by three unknown persons from OMP Square and they were demanding Rs 50,000 for his release. Subsequently, his father had also sent the said amount to Shubham via UPI.
In the meantime, police had formed a special team and managed to trace Shubham after a two-day search from Madhupatana near Press Chhak area. During interrogation, Shubham confessed to have scripted his own kidnapping to get some money for investing in an online betting application.
'Shubham had left his sister's place on June 20 and went to Press Chhak from where he called his father up alleging he had been kidnapped. He was involved in online betting and wanted to invest more money in the app. Hence, he faked his own abduction,' said a senior police officer adding, Shubham was eventually handed over to his family after being issued a warning not to indulge in such acts in the future.
