Sambalpur, Oct 23: Sambalpur Police in Odisha on Thursday arrested two individuals for allegedly orchestrating a massive job fraud that duped nearly 2,000 people of approximately Rs 2 crore.

The accused, Samrat Ray alias Rahul (32) of Kshetrajpur and Padmalaya Tandi alias Padmavati (34) of Burla, operated under a fake company named "RMAX Pvt Ltd", police said.

The duo falsely claimed to offer sweeping and sanitation jobs in government offices across Sambalpur Municipality. Victims were lured through village-level meetings and later large gatherings, where they were asked to pay Rs 12,000 each in exchange for promised employment with daily wages of Rs 400.

Sambalpur Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo revealed that the district police had been monitoring the suspects for months after receiving intelligence inputs. On Wednesday, officers raided a suspicious job mela and detained the accused.

“During interrogation, it was confirmed that they were running a fraudulent operation. They expanded their reach by increasing the size of meetings and collecting money from unsuspecting job seekers,” said SP Bhamoo.

Police recovered Rs 62 lakh in cash and two vehicles from the accused. Verification revealed that RMAX Pvt Ltd had no authorization from any government agency and had been active in criminal activities since October 2024.

The arrests mark a significant step in curbing employment-related scams in the region, and further investigation is underway to identify additional victims and accomplices.