The Editor of a private news channel in Bhubaneswar was raided by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Monday for allegedly duping a person to the tune of Rs 1 crore.
Concerned editor, Ardhendu Das, was reportedly served notices twice but hadn't deposed before the EOW, following which the enforcement agency raided his house today.
Sources said, he was not present in the house at Jagamara under Khandagiri Police limits during the raid.
As per reports, Das had purchased machines and equipment from a Delhi based supplier Gagandeep Singh Chawla worth Rs 90 Lakh in October 2020 to establish his news agency.
Das paid an amount of Rs 10 lakh while purchasing machins and promised to pay the rest Rs 80 lakh within six months. But he never paid the rest of the amount and allegedly threatened Chawla when he asked him to pay up after which Chawla registered a complaint at the Bhubaneswar EOW against Das.
This is not the lone fraud case registered against Das. In fact, another fraud case was registered against him at Purighat police station in Cuttack by a trader named Nisit Agrawal.
As per the complaint, Das had bought furniture and other articles for his office from Agrawal worth Rs 11 lakh but paid only Rs 4.4 lakh promising to pay the rest later. But despite Agrawal’s repeated requests to pay up the rest amount, Das has allegedly been ignoring his requests.
Amarendra Panda, ACP, Zone-5, Cuttack said, “Ardhendu Das had taken some materials from the complainant’s farm. Though he had paid a fraction of amount to him upfront, a majority of money was never paid. We are conducting the probe and statements are being recorded."
Asked by the reporters, Das said, "I had responded to EOW summon saying I'll appear after Rath Yatra. My lawyer had also mailed them. Despite this, EOW raided my house this morning. It's shocking. I had no clue they would come, I was not in Bhubaneswar."