Salesman concocts loot story, arrested

Jajpur: A salesman of an electrical cable distributor, who cooked up a loot story to pay off his financial dues, was arrested by Panikoili police on Wednesday for breaching his employer’s trust and duping him of over Rs 11 lakh in Jajpur district. The accused has been identified as Debendra Prusty of Bhatimunda village in Cuttack district, police said. Basanta Sahu, a resident of Patharapada, has an electrical store in Panikoili Bazaar and deals in electrical cable business of a reputed company. Prusty was working as a salesman in Sahu’s shop. Prusty used to take cables from Sahu’s shop and make payment after selling them in Tangi and Cuttack. On Tuesday, Prusty rang up Sahu and said he would be going to Panikoili from Tangi to pay off his Rs 11.19 lakh dues. In the afternoon, Prusty telephoned Sahu again and said that two unidentified motorcycle-borne miscreants had snatched the cash of Rs 11.19 lakh which he had collected near Tikara bridge after attacking him while he was on way to Panikoili.

“The armed miscreants attacked me with sharp-edged weapons as a result I sustained multiple injuries on my body. I have been admitted to a private hospital near Panikoili and undergoing treatment,” Prusty told Sahu.

Sahu came to the private hospital and found Prusty undergoing treatment. Sahu assumed the robbery to be genuine and approached Panikoili police. A police team then reached the hospital where Prusty was undergoing treatment and consulted the doctor. The doctor revealed that the injuries on Prusty’s body was due to blade cut. “We brought Prusty to the police station. When we interrogated Prusty, he broke down and confessed that he had scripted the fake loot drama.

We arrested the accused under relevant sections of IPC for breaching trust and criminal conspiracy,” said Panikoili police station IIC Lizarani Biswal. The accused was forwarded to the court and remanded in judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected, police said.