Cuttack: Commissionerate police on Tuesday arrested five people for allegedly extorting Rs 88 lakhs from a 72-year-old retired govt employee, a resident of CDA area, through a well-knit sextortion racket. Prime accused Saroj Kumar Jena is absconding.The accused were identified as Manoj Kumar Jena (27), Prafulla Kumar Biswal (65), Sangram Jena (22), all from Pobala village in Jajpur’s Dharmasala, and Basudev Rout (25) of Bari, Jajpur and Manaranjan Routray (60) of Airfield area police station area in Bhubaneswar. They trapped the elderly man through a social media platform and blackmailed him with morphed videos and photographs, police said.Saroj Jena, and two associates contacted the victim on Facebook in Jan 2025 and gained his trust through meetings at Roxy, Sagar and Jagabandhu hotels in Cuttack. In May 2025, the victim transferred Rs 1.48 lakh to Saroj for purported medical treatment, which was repaid, winning further confidence. Later, the accused sought money for his daughter’s treatment and, after refusal, trapped the victim in a WhatsApp video call involving a nude woman and secretly recorded it.The gang members contacted the victim posing as police and cybercrime officers and demanded money, threatening to circulate the video, else pay up Rs 88 lakh, added police.A special team then tracked the digital trail, analysed bank accounts and mobile numbers used in the crime during raids in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The five accused were nabbed and several mobile phones, SIM cards, ATM cards and passbooks were seized from their possession. Saroj is absconding.DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said, “The accused created fake profiles using photographs of women and targeted elderly and vulnerable persons. After recording video calls, they posed as police officers to extort money.”“Besides arresting five people, we seized Rs 14,00,460 in cash, 16 silver coins, two pairs of gold earrings, one gold finger ring, one gold mangalsutra, one gold chain and one silver armlet. Investigators also seized a TVS scooty and a Royal Enfield Bullet bike. Moreover, over Rs 5 lakh has been frozen in different bank accounts, while several other linked accounts are being verified for further legal action, added Khilari.
