Bhubaneswar, June 9: The number of complaints against realtor and film producer Niranjan Rana, who was arrested on June 2 on charges of duping customers, is increasing with police having received 32 complaints against him.

The police today charged Rana, managing director of Maa Tarini Eastcon Builders, under the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors Act.

"Under this act we will be able to confiscate his properties and subsequently auction the properties to return money to the investors," said a police source.

So far, the cops have found eight bank accounts in the name of Rana and his firm and written to the banks to freeze his accounts.

"We are trying to find out about his immovable assets that were accumulated with the money of duped investors," said the officer.

Rana has produced several Odia films featuring actors such as Rajya Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty. Some of the films Rana produced are Hari Bhai Harena, Target and Gote Sua Gote Sari.

The police said Rana had floated a housing project named Sai Enclave at Balianta for which he had collected money from at least 86 people. While some of them had paid 70 per cent as advance, others had made the full payment. The builder had collected the money in 2010 and promised the buyers their houses in 2012. But, Rana kept delaying the project and was not returning the money. The police said the builder had floated three similar housing projects and the fate of prospective investors would be the same.

'Killer' driver held

A 27-year-old autorickshaw driver was today arrested for allegedly killing his 21-year-old girlfriend near Gangapada in Jatni police limits on May 6. Police said the accused Manas Naik, who was married, had smashed the head of the victim, Sarojini Beura, with a rock when she insisted on marriage.

Naik, a father of two girls, was in a relationship with the woman for the past two years.

"He used to ply his autorickshaw in Cuttack during which he met the lady. After dating her for around two years, she started pressuring him to marry her. But the accused refused as he was already married," said deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

"On the fateful day Manas brought her to Bhubaneswar, crushed her head with a rock and fled," said a police official.

Though the police had initially suspected that the lady had been raped before being killed, the autopsy did not reveal that. The police found two liquor bottles and a few disposable glasses at the crime scene. Police identified the lady from the Aadhaar card found at the crime scene.

"Her family members told us that she was staying with a tea shopowner in Cuttack. Upon interrogating the teashop owner, we were led to the accused. Manas was arrested from his residence in Fategarh in Nayagarh district," said the police official.