Berhampur, July 15: Berhampur Sadar Police on Wednesday arrested Shubhalaxmi Raut, the alleged mastermind of a multi-crore fake railway job racket operating under the guise of a social service organization in Odisha.

Raut, along with her husband Samarjeet Raut—who remains absconding—allegedly duped over 30 unemployed youth in Odisha with promises of railway jobs under the Scouts and Guides quota.

According to police sources, the accused couple had launched a fake trust named "Janamanyaata", operating in Bhubaneswar, and allegedly extorted Rs 5 crore or more from aspiring candidates, collecting amounts ranging from Rs 12 to Rs 16 lakh per person.

The victims were shown forged documents and promised placement in Indian Railways. The racket extended its operations from Ganjam district to Kolkata and possibly involved internal railway staff, raising concerns of a larger collusion.

The accused couple allegedly appointed a middleman, Bighneswar Dora, from Kukudakhandi in Ganjam district, who played a key role in collecting money from the candidates. Dora has also been taken into police custody, sorces said.

Reports suggest the money was used to establish four shell companies and fund foreign travel, allegedly under fake identities—Samarjeet posed as Basanta Singh and Shubhalaxmi as a Delhi-based officer.

Berhampur SP Sravana Vivek M confirmed that the investigation is underway to trace Samarjeet and expose the full extent of the scam.

Victims have started filing complaints, urging swift justice, police said.

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