Odisha conman, arrested for marrying 27 women, faces ED’s money laundering case

ED has filed a money laundering case against Ramesh Swain who was arrested in February this year by the Odisha police

Updated on: Apr 5, 2023, 13:02:10 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: The Enforcement Directorate has registered a case against Ramesh Swain, considered one of O disha’s biggest imposters who was arrested by the state police last year on charges that he married 27 women in 10 states and cheated them of lakhs of rupees.

The Odisha police also arrested one of Swain’s wives, Dr Kamala Sethi, his stepsister and driver. All of them have been granted bail by Orissa high court. (Sourced)

Swain, also known as Bibhu Prakash Swain, was arrested in 2011 on charges of cheating people in Hyderabad of ₹2 crore, promising seats in MBBS courses for their children, and in 2006 for allegedly defrauding 13 banks in Kerala of ₹1 crore through 128 forged credit cards.

In the Odisha case, police also arrested one of Swain’s wives, Dr Kamala Sethi, his stepsister and driver. All of them have been granted bail by Orissa high court.

An ED official said the agency is in touch with the state police to access the documents seized from the suspect that would indicate how the 66-year-old laundered the proceeds of crime over the years.

The official added that Swain’s financial transactions will be investigated and that the agency may seek his remand for questioning at some point.

Swain was arrested on February 13 by a special squad of Odisha police that had been tracking him for eight months. He was arrested based on a complaint filed by one of his wives, a Delhi-based woman, in May 2021. She met him through a matrimony site in 2018 and got married. He had claimed to be the deputy director general in the health ministry.

Swain is said to have rented at least three apartments in Bhubaneswar, where he would keep three wives at the same time, according to a police officer who has questioned him. His wives told the police that he would often tell his wives to lend him money and once he got the money, the search for the next wife would begin.

Among the women that he ‘married’ were an assistant commandant of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, a chartered accountant from Chhatisgarh, a doctor in Assam, two advocates of the Supreme Court and the Delhi high court and an officer of the Kerala Administrative Service.

“He would slink away for days together, saying he had an urgent inspection of medical colleges. After marriage, he would often tell his wives to lend him money, pleading that government has frozen his bank account for some reason. Once he got the money, he would look for another wife,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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