The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police arrested one Nikhilananada Pashupalak, an official of a multi-state chit fund company, on the charges of duping investors to the tune of Rs 500 crore.
Pashupalak was arrested from Berhampur on Wednesday. He was rounded up in connection with a case registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 420, 406, 120 (B) and Section 6 of the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments Act,2011) against the chit fund company- Success Online Service System (SOSS) Private Ltd.
The FIR was registered on the basis of a written complaint filed by one Parsuram Behera against the office bearers of Success Online Service System (SOSS) Private Ltd. The Uttar Pradesh based company was operating its Regional Offices at different places of the country, including the one in Odisha at Lochapada in Berhampur.
Raman Kumar Singh was the Managing Director and Rakesh Kumar was the Secretary of the said company and the regional office of Odisha was managed by Pasupalak.
“The office bearers of the company collected public fund to the tune of more than Rs. 500 Crore from different part of country including Odisha on the pretext of providing insurance service, share marketing, dividends and estates/ distribution of flats etc. The company subsequently disappeared in January, 2012 misappropriating the huge fund mobilized from general public and changing their all contact numbers and addresses,” the EOW said in a release.
During investigation, it was ascertained that the company was collecting illegal deposits by floating different schemes under the promise of giving health care commodities and also lucrative returns on the amount invested.
The company has collecting such illegal deposits from Delhi, Jharkhand, Odisha and other places. It has been ascertained that a substantial amount from the public deposits have been mobilised by the accused persons for making Bhojpuri films under “Cine Vision”, a sister concern of SOSS. The accused Pashupalak had also acted in the films (Bhojpuri), the EOW said.