JAJPUR: Jajpur Road police on Wednesday arrested a woman on charges of duping Self Help Groups (SHGs) in many wards of Vyas Nagar municipal limits in Jajpur district to the tune of Rs 40 lakh.The accused Padmini Panda of Mundumal village was arrested after SHG members lodged complaints with the local police.
According to reports, Padmini who also happens to be an SHG member, had taken loans to the tune of Rs 40 lakh from several women self help groups under different pretexts. But, she reportedly failed to repay the loan for a protracted period following which the self help groups registered complaints against her with the local police station.
“We believed her as she is from our village and we gave her loans. But she never cared to pay back even after a long time. She didn’t even pay the interest of the loan she had taken from us. When we went to her home to ask her to return the amount, she misbehaved with us. Hence, we had no option but to register a complaint with the police to get back our hard earned money,” alleged member of a woman self help group of Mundumal village Basanti Patra.
Based on the complaints, police registered a case against Padmini under relevant sections of IPC and started investigation into it.“Women from different self help groups complained against Padmini Panda for duping them. The accused has been arrested and further investigation into the incident is underway,” said IIC of Jajpur Road police station Upendra Kumar Pradhan, .The accused was forwarded to the local court and remanded to judicial custody after her bail plea was rejected, police said.