BHUBANESWAR: A designated court under the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act has directed Cuttack ADM for sale Sarala Realcon private limited’s property, which is worth Rs 13.81 crore.
The property includes land spread over 95 acres having a market value of around Rs 13.81 crore, a frozen bank balance to the tune of Rs 13.10 lakh, seized cash amounting to Rs 3.25 lakh and four luxury cars including one BMW X5.
In 2015, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch registered a case against Sarala Realcon, its managing director Gayadhar Jena and other directors for allegedly duping 238 plot buyers to the tune of Rs 17 crore.
During the investigation, it was established that the directors of Sarala Realcon had fabricated the documents with the intention to cheat investors. The agency filed a charge sheet against Sarala Realcon, its MD Gayadhar Jena and five others.
The movable and immovable assets accumulated by Jena and other directors out of the public deposits were traced and an ad-interim proposal for attachment of the illegal property was submitted by EOW on July 2, 2016 under Section 3 of OPID Act.
On the basis of EOW’s proposal, the Finance department on October 19, 2016, issued an ad-interim order to attach the property of Sarala Realcon and its directors. The designated court under OPID Act in Cuttack recently made the ad-interim attachment order absolute and directed Cuttack ADM Cuttack to sell the immovable property through an auction.
The court has also directed Cuttack ADM to distribute the froze/seized cash of the tainted firm and its directors equally among the duped investors. According to EOW officers, Jena and other directors of Sarala Realcon including his wife Pankajini had opened an office in the Jayadurga Nagar area. They issued a publication in 2010 stating that the company was providing housing plots in and around Bhubaneswar on installment basis.
The MD and other directors of the firm had allegedly collected crores from potential buyers between 2010 and 2013. But the plots were never handed over to the buyers nor money refunded.