Two held from Odisha for duping Delhi trader

New Delhi: Delhi Police arrested two persons from Bhubaneswar for allegedly cheating a rice trader of Rs 20 lakh by posing as representatives of a company selling agricultural products, police said on Saturday. The two accused, Basudev Swain (35), a resident of Lucknow, and Deepak Kumar (40), a resident of Varanasi, were apprehended on Thursday. According to the police, the complainant, who runs a rice and food supply business in northwest Delhi, alleged that Swain and Kumar, along with a co-accused Amit Kumar Singh, approached him posing as officials of Smartvalue Limited.

They claimed the company wanted to purchase rice for testing and future large-scale procurement. “Trusting their credentials, the complainant supplied rice worth around Rs 20 lakh against proper bills. However, the accused later switched off their phones and went incommunicado,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Bhisham Singh said. Upon verification, it was found that the documents and seals they used were forged, and none of them were associated with the company, he added. They have been charged with cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.

During investigation, the complainant produced bills and forged documents given by the accused. The authorised representative of Smartvalue Limited confirmed in writing that the accused were not connected to the company in any capacity, Singh said. “After extensive technical surveillance and local intelligence inputs, the team conducted raids in Bhubaneswar and arrested both the accused,” he said. During interrogation, the two admitted to their involvement and revealed that they had been committing such offences to earn easy money.