A complaint has been lodged against a woman of a self-help group at Purusottampur village under Soro police station in Balasore for allegedly duping her colleagues to the tune of Rs 35 lakh.
The accused has been identified as Rashmita Mallick.
As per reports, Rashmita duped as many as eight women of the SHG by giving them fake assurance of helping them avail loan from a lender. However, the loans were never granted as promised by the accused.
When the victims went to Rashmita’s home to ask her to return the amount, to their utter dismay, they learnt that she was missing.
“We believed Rashmita and gave her Rs 35 lakh by borrowing from different groups for granting us loan. However, she duped us and fled overnight. We are helpless now,” said Gitarani Panda, a victim.
The victims have lodged a complaint against Rashmita at Soro police station.
On the other hand, as per Rashmita’s husband Umakanta, she has eloped with a microfinance worker and both of them have taken the money with them.
“My wife had an affair with a microfinance worker and she eloped with him. I am clueless about their whereabouts. Let the police nab them and retrieve money from them,” said Umakanta.
Meanwhile, Soro police has launched an investigation into the incident.