Bhubaneswar, Aug. 12: The economic offence wing of the crime branch last night arrested a director of a real estate company that had allegedly duped its investors of over Rs 500 crore. Rabi Shankar Nanda, 35, was arrested when he was having dinner at a hotel.

“One of the victims spotted him in the hotel in Laxmi Sagar and informed us from where we nabbed him,” said an officer. He was sent to Jharapada Special Jail this afternoon after a local court rejected his bail plea.

Nanda had collected cash from many people to provide them land at different places on the city outskirts. But when many of the previous investors went against the company alleging that it cheated them, Nanda told the new investors to transfer their money to a sister concern. Even the new company cheated these investors.

Later these people lodged complaints with police but they did not pay any heed to them. They then protested near the Assembly and gheraoed the company office after which police registered cases against the staff.