Paradip, May 7: Police today arrested the manager of a fraud deposit collection company for allegedly swindling investors.

Many more complainants are coming forward from pockets of Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts to lodge police complaints against the non-banking financial companies. After DP Finance, another fraud deposit collection company called Artha Tatya has disappeared after cheating investors at Kujang (Jagatsinghpur) and Pattamundai (Kendrapara) to the tune of Rs 20 crore. “Madan Mohan Swain, the branch manager of Golden Lion operating at Chandol in Kendrapara rural police jurisdiction, was arrested on charge of cheating the investors.

The accused, booked under sections 420, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, has been remanded in judicial custody,” said Kendrapara rural police station inspector Tapas Kumar Pradhan.

Some of the deceived investors lodged complaint and penal action was initiated accordingly. The company pledged the doubling up of fixed deposits in two years. The interest return in savings account was as high as 30 per cent per annum. Villagers had invested for quick returns and the fraud perpetrated by the bogus firm is to the tune of Rs 50 lakh. “We are searching for another executive of the company, who is absconding,” Pradhan said.

Fraudulent practices by Artha Tatwa have been reported in Kujang on the outskirts of Paradip. “While the investors lodged complaint in similar frauds reported elsewhere, it’s the agents, who have brought the act of cheating to the notice of local police,” said Jagatsinghpur superintendent of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

Cases have been registered and the economic offence wing of the state crime branch has been informed of the fraud, he said.The non-banking financial companies had lured investors from rural hinterland and promised to double or triple their money in three years.