A bizarre extortion plot in Odisha's Balangir district has ended with police busting a gang that kidnapped a businessman at gunpoint, all over a centuries-old coin supposedly bearing the image of Lord Hanuman. Investigators have arrested the key conspirators, including a serving woman sub-inspector and a journalist, for orchestrating the abduction and staging fake evidence.
The Hanuman coin con
For years, a network operating across western Odisha has preyed on superstition by trading old copper or brass coins engraved with what is claimed to be an image of Lord Hanuman. Gang members convince targets that the coins carry supernatural powers and can fetch crores of rupees in overseas markets, using that belief to extract large sums of money from unsuspecting victims.
Grabbed at gunpoint near Randha Chowk
The latest victim was 62-year-old Balangir businessman Narendra Sahu, also known locally as Gunda Sahu. On August 14, the alleged mastermind, 50-year-old Kshitish Chandra Sahu, along with his associates, lured Narendra to Randha Chowk, forced him into a vehicle at gunpoint and drove him to Bhubaneswar, where he was held captive in a hotel room. Police moved quickly and rescued him from Bhubaneswar the very next day.
A disputed Rs 2.7 crore deal with no paper trail
According to Himanshu Kumar Lal, IG of the Northern Range, Kshitish claimed he had handed over Rs 2.7 crore to Narendra back in 2020 in exchange for a rare coin, but says he received neither the coin nor his money back. Investigators, however, have found no financial evidence to back up that claim.
Forced to pose with an empty pistol on camera
Balangir SP Abhilash G. said Narendra was threatened with a firearm throughout his captivity and pressured into calling home to falsely assure his family he was safe. Police later recovered 12 disturbing videos from Kshitish's phone, in which Narendra was handed an unloaded pistol and made to act out a scene suggesting he had attacked Kshitish. The staged footage was meant to force him into apologising and returning money, building a false trail of evidence against him.
A sub-inspector sister and a journalist join the plot
Kshitish did not act alone. He roped in his own sister, a sub-inspector posted at Khandagiri police station in Bhubaneswar, along with local journalist Sanjay Jena. CCTV footage showed Jena posing as a police officer to walk Narendra into Khandagiri police station, where a false assault complaint was filed against him. Sub-inspector Snehamanjari Sahu is separately accused of abusing her official position to threaten Narendra with a fabricated criminal case.
A plan to extort up to Rs 10 crore
Police say the accused had plotted to extract anywhere between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 10 crore from Narendra. A case has now been registered under the BNS and the Arms Act, and the investigation has been accelerated. Digital forensic analysis has already turned up evidence of sustained communication between the accused, further exposing the layers of the conspiracy.
