Special Court orders public auction of Odisha chit fund company property
CUTTACK: A designated Special Court on Monday gave the go-ahead for public auction of Maa Tarini Estcon Pvt Limited’s property for distribution among investors allegedly duped by company. Additional District Magistrate, Cuttack, the competent authority under Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, 2011, had on October 18, 2017 filed a petition before the court praying to order sale by public auction the attached property of Maa Tarini Estcon Pvt Limited.
The court allowed the petition on Monday while approving an ad interim order for attachment of the company’s property, issued by Finance department. Presiding judge V Sujata directed the competent authority (ADM, Cuttack) to sell the attached immovable property by public auction and release the sale proceeds along with the amount in the bank accounts for equitable distribution among depositors. The attached immovable and movable property included 42 acres land, a SUV and Rs 51.57 lakh bank deposits.
According to case records, Maa Tarini Estcon Pvt Limited had collected funds from depositors promising to provide residential plots and houses in Bhanapur, Gopalpur, Pratapnagari and Nacchhipur areas on the outskirts of Cuttack city.
Cases were registered against the company at Sahid Nagar police station in Bhubaneswar on the basis of complaints received from Pradip Kumar Nanda and other investors in 2016. Later, the Finance department had issued ad interim order for attachment of property of the company on October 13, 2017, while the investigation was in progress and asked the competent authority under the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors Act to file the petition before the designated court.