BHUBANESWAR: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested BJD leader Dillip Kumar Nayak for allegedly cheating a businessman of Rs 12.42 crore on the promise of providing him plots and jointly setting up a real estate firm. Nayak had unsuccessfully contested the Nimapara Assembly constituency as BJD candidate in the 2024 elections.
The agency had registered a case against Nayak on the basis of a police complaint by the businessman Bijay Rout. As per the complaint, Nayak had allegedly persuaded Rout to start a real estate business in partnership with him. He had also promised the complainant to provide him plots in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
EOW’s investigation revealed Nayak had taken Rs 3 crore from Rout between 2015 and 2017 to invest in his business. In 2018, he took Rs 4 crore from the complainant to provide him a land at Bajrakabati Road in Cuttack. While Nayak could not provide a land there, he again persuaded Rout to give him another rs 3.42 crore on the promise of proving him a plot in the capital city.
Nayak then assured the complainant that he will either return Rs 7.42 crore or provide him the plot. He later issued three cheques amounting to Rs 10.5 crore in favour of Routthat cheques were rejected by the banks for insufficient balance and also Nayak’s deliberate mismatched signatures on them, EOW sources said.