Economic offence: Cuttack Police puts up ‘Wanted’ notice outside fugitive’s home

In a stern move, the Commissionerate Police put up a public notice on Sunday outside fugitive Niranjan Behera’s residence in Mangalabag in Cuttack, warning of property seizure if he fails to appear within a month. The action follows repeated court orders and his continued defiance since 2019.

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According to official sources, the Police have taken visible legal action against Niranjan Behera, a fugitive accused in two financial fraud cases, by beating the ‘dengura’ (drum) and putting up a Latka (public proclamation notice) outside his residence in Gopalsahi.

Property seizure if accused fails to appear

Acting on an instruction from the JMFC Court in the City, Mangalabag Police affixed the notice, declaring fugitive Niranjan (from Ranihat locality) as absconding due to his repeated failure to appear in court despite multiple warrants issued since 2019. The court has officially labeled him a ‘proclaimed offender’ and ‘abscondee’ as well.

“Police not only displayed the proclamation in front of his home but also issued a formal notice to his family, instructing them to ensure Niranjan appears before the authorities within one month. Failure to do so, as per the court directive, will result in the confiscation of his entire property,” Cuttack ACP Zone II, Girija Shankar Chakraborty said.

Niranjan’s long-standing evasion and disregard for court orders have now escalated the case, bringing him under stricter legal scrutiny. The court had previously issued notices and Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs) to which the accused had not responded, the ACP Zone II expressed in a presser while briefing mediapersons.

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Worth mentioning, in a crackdown, the Commissionerate Police-Bhubaneswar had put up a warrant notice (Latka in local parlance) issued against a youth named Akshay Naik alias Nanda, on March 23. Akshay is accused of raping a minor girl.