Investors demand that property in possession of Astha International Limited, a deposit collection company, be seized and arrangements made for refund of their money in Bhubaneswar on Friday. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, June 21: Rage against alleged police ineptitude and medical negligence spilled onto the streets in the city today.

While investors waving lists of immovable properties belonging to the office bearers of Astha International Limited — a dubious fund collection company — staged a demonstration in front of the economic offences wing (EOW) of the crime branch at Kalpana Square, about seven kilometres away near Baramunda fire station, students of an engineering college ransacked a private hospital alleging medical negligence.

More than 100 investors from different parts of the state gathered outside the EOW office and demanded that the property in possession of the company’s office bearers be seized by the investigating agency and arrangements be made for refund of their money.

“The EOW officials have only managed to arrest Odisha coordinator of Astha International Subhranshu Lenka and seized one luxury car belonging to him. But they are yet to make further seizures from Lenka or other office bearers who have been arrested by Gujarat police. We fear that we will not get our money back,” said Pradip Majhi of Balasore. Maijhi had invested Rs 12 lakh in the company.

The investors said the investigating agency should take the same initiative in this case as they have shown in the Seashore group case, another fund collection company.

EOW officials said they arrested Lenka and quizzed him after bringing him on a two-day remand. “He did not reveal much about his properties. We are trying to collect more information about the assets of Lenka and other officials of the company and will seize those assets shortly,” said an officer. The officer said they would bring the officials of the company who were arrested by Gujarat police on remand as well.

Crime branch officials today brought chairman-cum-managing director of Seashore group Prashant Das from Mumbai. After alighting at the Bhubaneswar airport, EOW officials took Das into their waiting vehicle, his mouth practically gagged to prevent him from speaking to waiting mediapersons.

A joint team of EOW and Koraput police arrested Das on Wednesday evening after a case was registered against him on June 10 in Semiliguda police station for cheating people of Rs 50 crore. He was brought on a six-day transit remand.

Students run amok

Students of an engineering college today ransacked a private hospital near Baramunda fire station, alleging negligence in treatment that caused the death of one of their friends.

The students smashed glass doors and furniture on the ground floor of the hospital building. Senior police officials dispersed the students after promising to take steps against the guilty.

The students alleged that their friend Saurav Sandilya, 20, a first-year student, died due to negligence of the hospital employees, as there had been some delay in payment of his fees.

Sandilya, a second semester student of the private college at Jagamara, had met with an accident at Khandagiri Square last evening in which he suffered severe head injuries. A police control room (PCR) van rushed him to Capital Hospital. But, lack of scanning facilities in the government hospital at night forced his friends to rush him to the private hospital.

“The hospital authorities demanded Rs 15,000 for admitting him. We could arrange only Rs 5,000 and had convinced the authorities to admit him following which, they attended to him. This morning, when we enquired about his health, a hospital employee said he was recovering. But around 11am when we went to meet him, the hospital authorities declared him dead,” said Prakash, roommate of the deceased.

A student said that even before Sandilya’s parents could arrive here from Deoghar in Jharkhand, the authorities had sent the body to Capital Hospital for post-mortem. This infuriated them further.

As a result, around 40 students gathered near the hospital and went on a rampage. When Khandagiri police personnel failed to control the students, more cops rushed to the spot.

The students lodged a complaint at Nayapalli police station against the hospital authorities for negligence in treatment. “We are looking into the matter,” said inspector in charge of Nayapalli police station Anup Kanungo.

Public relations officer of the hospital Priyabrata Biswal said that after the patient died this morning, his friends and family members were informed, and only then was his body sent to Capital Hospital under police supervision for post-mortem.