Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of Odisha police has arrested a person for defrauding the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Mayurbhanj of Rs 9.6 crore, an official said on Monday.

The arrested accused is Pomesh Tembhare, a resident of Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh. The EOW officer said he was arrested on April 26 and brought to Bhubaneswar on transit remand and will be produced before the designated court in Balasore on Monday.

The arrest was made on the basis of a police case registered by the Chief Manager of Bank of India, Baripada.

According to the police, the fraudster managed to transfer Rs 9.56 crore by creating a cloned cheque.

Of the illegally transferred amounts, Rs 5.04 crore was blocked and Rs 13.5 lakh lying in 33 accounts were frozen, he said.

Pomesh was hiding in the Naxal affected village after switching off his mobile phone. Odisha EOW team with the help of local police and CAPF arrested him.

During investigation, EOW found that Pomesh is a member of a large gang with complex network in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

Odisha Police is conducting further investigation to reach other fraudsters.