Bhubaneswar, May 24: The Odisha government is working out a plan to help poor investors, who have lost their life’s savings to fraud deposit collection companies, get their money back.
The sham companies have cheated nearly 20 lakh investors in the state and the scam is said to have run into crores. Chief secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik was today closeted for half an hour with finance secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra and additional director general crime branch B.K. Sharma on this issue at the secretariat.
Sharma briefed the two bureaucrats about steps taken so far by the economic offences wing of the crime branch.
Patnaik said: “Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (in financial establishment) Bill has been sent to the President for his approval. We are in constant touch with the Centre on this issue. Once it gets the President’s nod, steps will be initiated to give the money back to the investors.”
Sharma said the property of the deposit collection companies would be auctioned following due procedure of law.
“We will see to it that people who invested their money get it back. This would be possible only after the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors Bill is enacted as a law,” he said.
The economic offences wing today seized a BMW of Sea Shore Company, which has allegedly made away with Rs 700 crore of public money. The crime branch has already sealed its head office and various factories besides suspending its gold trade license.
Sharma said the seized property, including the buildings, would be liquidated and efforts would be made to give the money back to the people.
On the other hand, a political debate has been triggered after Union minister of state for statistics and programme implementation Srikant Jena lambasted the Odisha government. “People’s confidence in one of the deposit collection companies grew after chief minister Naveen Patnaik attended one of its events where the company launched its TV channel in 2011. The state government should recommend a CBI inquiry,” Jena had said.
Reacting to Jena’s allegations, BJD vice-president and health minister Damodar Rout said: “It is ridiculous to say that if somebody is invited to a function, he is involved in any mess created by the organisation.”
Rout said the money bungling matter must be investigated appropriately to identify persons irrespective of their positions and take action against them.
