The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI on Thursday filed a preliminary chargesheet in a case against chit fund firm Micro Finance limited. The chargesheet filed by Investigating Officer (IO) MK Saha and senior counsel KC Mishra in the special CBI Court here named five persons, including the company’s former CMD Durga Prasad Mishra, his brother Upendra Mishra and son Kaliprasad Mishra, who were also the firm’s managing director and director respectively. The last two are yet to be arrested. The 100-page chargesheet has also named two other directors of the company Ashok Patnaik and Bakunthanath Patnaik who were earlier arrested by the CBI.
The chargesheet stated that it had duped investors of at least `400 crore by floating six companies in the State, such as the Micro Finance limited, the Micro leasing and Funding, Micro Hotels, the Micro Constructions, the Micro Hospitals and the Micro Media. The CBI slapped charges against the accused under several Sections of the IPC, including 120 (B), 406, 409, 420, 471 and Sections 4, 5, 6 of the Prize Chit and Money Circulation (Banning) Act, 1978.
CBI sources said it was a preliminary chargesheet to meet the statutory requirement within 120 days and a supplementary chargesheet could follow. Notably, this is the third chargesheet filed by the CBI in the mega chit fund scam. The CBI has already filed chargesheets against Ponzi firms Green India Private limited on December 2 last and the second one against Artha Tatwa (AT) Group on December 11 last.