Bhubaneswar, April 3: Police today arrested a 53-year-old woman, wife of a forest ranger, on charges of duping investors of Rs 1.5 crore through a money deposit collection company at Khandagiri.

The cops are also suspecting the involvement of her husband, who is currently working as a forest ranger in Nuapada district, in the scam. The firm, called Forward Finance, used to operate from their residence at Khandagiri Housing Board Colony.

Mamata Naik opened the firm in 2012. She has duped around 50 investors, mostly women, from Khandagiri and nearby areas.

"She used to collect investment promising double return within one year. However, after she had failed to keep her promise, one of the investors, Sailabala Rout, registered a complaint with Khandagiri police and Naik was arrested today," said deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

Further investigation revealed that Naik had also collected all the money receipts from the investors, saying that she would return their investment. "She deliberately collected the receipts to destroy evidence of their investments," said a senior police official.

"We will go through the bank account of her husband to find out whether the investor's money was transferred to his account," said a police official.

"She persuaded me to invest money through my mother-in-law. After the death of my husband, I invested Rs 7 lakh in her firm. She had promised me double return in one year. When I asked her to return my investment, she kept dilly dallying," alleged Bijaylaxmi Mohapatra, an investor.

The police 1also suspect that the accused had invested the deposits in some other fraudulent money deposit collection companies. "Investigation is on to find out the money trail," said a police official.

Student leader held

The Congress's students wing president Satyajit Patnaik, who was arrested last night in connection with hurling eggs at chief minister Naveen Patnaik's convoy on February 19, was sent to judicial custody after his bail plea had been rejected.

The police said Satyajit, who had been untraceable following the incident, was held from Lakshmi Sagar last night.

The student leader was reportedly present in the group, which had hurled eggs at Naveen's convoy while the carcade was on its way to Utkal University.

The cops, so far, have arrested nine Congress activists on various charges, including attempt to murder.

They are also trying to nab a few other members of the youth and students wing of the Congress in connection with the attack.

The incident had led to suspension of inspector in-charge and an assistant sub-inspector of Kharavela Nagar police station for dereliction of duty.

Besides, the state government on March 2 had suspended additional deputy commissioner of police Binod Das, who was in charge of the chief minister's carcade.