Bhubaneswar, Nov 17: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch has registered a case against the owner of an Odia portal for allegedly cheating a businessman of Rs 90 lakh. The accused also runs an Odia newspaper.
Also Read: STA crypto-ponzi scam: Founder member arrested by EOW.
The 39-year-old victim alleged that the accused claimed that he had good rapport with senior government officials and assured me got get clearances for my housing project. “He later assured me of clearing environment and pollution permission and government approval for my housing project. I initially paid him Rs 10 lakh to get the works done,” alleged the victim who is involved in real-estate business for past 12 years.
The victim further alleged that the owner of the newspaper later demanded Rs 60 lakh to pay the higher officials for accomplishment of works related to his housing project. “I paid his Rs 60 lakh in phase wise manner and later he asked me to provide two luxury vehicles. I provided him one Mercedes and one Audi car to expedite the work,” further alleged the victim.
Also Read: Director of firm arrested by EOW for Rs 12 crore fraud.
The complainant later asked about the progress of work but the accused continued to take time. “He later provided me an approval order of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA). I came to know that the order was fake so I asked him to refund the money. But he threatened me of dire consequences,” alleged the victim.
The victim later lodged a formal complaint with the EOW in this regard. The investigating agency has started an investigation after registering a case under sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
