Bhubaneswar: Badagada police here on Thursday arrested a man for allegedly attempting to sell the land of a US‑based Odia software engineer by impersonation.Police said Ajit Kumar Das, who hails from Jajpur and is settled in the US, had purchased a plot in city’s Sundarpur mouza on April 2, 2022. Despite possessing valid ownership documents, Das’s land was allegedly being sold by accused Ranjan Kumar Swain (37), a resident of Niali in Cuttack district, and his two associates, without the NRI’s knowledge.After Das learnt of the attempted sale from his land’s caretaker, he lodged a police complaint online on March 19 this year.“The land has been lying vacant. Knowing the owner lives abroad, they forged documents and attempted to sell it for over Rs 1 crore. One of Swain’s associates posed as the landowner and is absconding. All those involved in the fraud will be arrested,” a Badagada police officer said.
