BHUBANESWAR: The SDJM court here has ordered to release Rs 20 lakh frozen amount in favour of the victim of India Tourism Development Corporation limited (ITDC) hotel fraud case.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch had registered a case last year against three persons - Anikesh Sahu, Chandan Akash Mohanty and Bikash Maharana for allegedly cheating a businessman to the tune of Rs 50 lakh on the pretext of selling ITDC's hotel Nilachal Ashok in Puri.
Anikesh, a former contractual assistant engineer of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC), Chandan and Bikash had executed a fake agreement with proprietor of TK Egg and Chicken Centre in Puri, Tapan Kumar Mohanty, in 2020 to sell the hotel for Rs 15 crore.
Anikesh had impersonated as a contractor involved in various projects of ITDC. While Chandan faked as a senior official of ITDC and Bikash claimed he was working as a clerk in the Corporation. To win the trust of Tapan, the accused first asked him to transfer Rs 20 lakh to the genuine bank account of ITDC. They then took another Rs 30 lakh from him.
Bijayini Mohanty, wife of Tapan, had lodged a complaint. "The amount of Rs 20 lakh was freezed from ITDC’s account. The amount will be handed over to Bijayini as her husband is in a vegetative state ever since he was conned," said DIG (EOW) Jai Narayan Pankaj.