Bhubaneswar, June 10: Crime branch officials today quizzed Odisha co-ordinator of Gujarat-based deposit collection company Astha International Limited Subhranshu Lenka about his fraudulent transactions and involvement of the firm’s other employees.

“We are trying to locate his movable and immovable properties. A crime branch team today conducted raids on his offices in Bhubaneswar and Berhampur,” said an officer.

Lenka, who had been arrested on Friday night from Unit-IV and sent to judicial custody on Saturday by a court, was brought today on a two-day remand for interrogation.

In another development, around 200 investors, who are from Ganjam and other parts of the state and have invested their money in Astha International, staged a protest, demanding probe into the fraudulent activities of Lenka and all his properties be sealed. They alleged that Lenka had been splurging their money in other activities and planning to start his own business.

“He had secretly opened two companies — Vhance International Limited and Vhance Multitrade Private Limited — in the names of his relatives though he was in Astha. He got the licence from the registrar of companies by paying over Rs 1.10 crore last year. This money was ours,” said Prakash Nayak, an investor.

Nayak said Lenka had started drawing money from people through his new companies. But after the raids on Astha, he shifted his company to other parts such as Angul and other places.

Another investor said Lenka’s family had been very poor, but became rich after he had started business here. Lenka now owns a four-storey building at Teramanpur in Rahama block of Jagatsinghpur district. This building costs over Rs 2 crore.

In another development, a group of investors, who had invested in Chennai-based deposit collection company Sastra Enterprises Limited in its real estate firm here, lodged cases against the firm and its authorities. However, the official said that as its managing director V. Sampath had been arrested last month and was in jail, there was no need to register another case.

In the afternoon, another group of people lodged a complaint with the crime branch against a Bhubaneswar-based real estate firm for cheating them after promising to provide land and houses.

Debashis Pradhan had deposited Rs 3.30 lakh to book a house at Tankapani Road in a housing project of Adarsha Infra Development India Private Limited with its offices at Kana Vihar and Nayapalli. But, the firm did not provide him the house. The cheque they returned bounced, following which Pradhan today lodged a complaint with the crime branch.