Court nod to sale of 24 acres of chit fund firm’s land

Bhubaneswar: A court on Saturday granted permission for sale of confiscated property — 24.0487 acres of land — of Shree Bhumi Group of Companies, a chit fund firm. The court has also asked the appropriate authority to distribute the sale proceeds among the duped depositors.
The economic offences wing (EOW) of the crime branch registered an FIR against section 6 of Odisha protection of interest of depositors (in financial establishment) Act, 2011, under section 467, 468, 471, 120 (b) of IPC and section 4, 5 and 6 of prize chits and money circulation schemes (banning) Act, 1978 against Chhotrai Majhi, Subhranshu Singh, Bhagaban Panda and other, who were board of director and agents of the ponzi firm.
The company had lured people by promising high returns and took deposits from them but never repaid them. The EOW investigation revealed that a 24 acre land was acquired by the firm with the money they had collected. The government had attached the property after EOW proposal in September 2018.
The court directed the competent authority to sell the immovable property under attachment in public auction and on realisation of the amount, it will be distributed among the depositors, an EOW officer said citing the court order. Earlier, Subhranshu, director of Shree Bhumi Group of Companies, was arrested in 2015 by EOW sleuths and convicted by the court.