Company MD arrested in chit fund scam

The crime branch of the Odisha police on Sunday arrested Deb Kumar Panda, the managing director (MD) of a state-based chit fund company on the charge of siphoning depositors’ money of about Rs 50 crore.

He was nabbed by the sleuths of the crime branch’s Economic Offence Wing (EOW) from the city railway station here while trying to flee the country. A passport, official travel documents including visa to go to Singapore as well as Singapore and US dollars were recovered from his possession.

According to crime branch sources, the EOW had registered a case against Panda who was heading a chit fund company called Vista Management Services after receiving several complaints from the depositors in different western Odisha districts like Kalahandi, Bolangir, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur.

“We had registered a case against Panda and were looking for him after receiving complaints from many depositors in different districts. He was on his way to Vishakhapatnam and would have subsequently flown to Singapore. We have recovered a passport, visa, Singapore and US dollars as well as air tickets from his possession,” said a senior crime branch official.

Meanwhile, legislator and a senior Congress leader from western Odisha, Narasingha Mishra has alleged that several political leaders were patronising the arrested chit fund company owner.

“I demand that the involvement of political leaders should be investigated thoroughly and appropriate action should be taken against them too,” Mishra who is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly said.

The multi-crore chit fund scam in Odisha is currently being investigated separately by the crime branch of the state police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).