A Mayurbhanj district court on Monday sentenced three persons to rigorous imprisonment (RI) and slapped a hefty fine on them for fraudulent operation of chit funds and cheating people. The court also issued a direction to the authorities to realise the amount even if the convicts served jail term.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Sahu convicted chit fund companies India Info Star and India Info line’s regional manager Diptikanta Behera to five years’ RI. The court also slapped a fine of Rs1 crore on Behera while the company’s branch manager and manager Gagan Patra and Subhendu Sekhr Panda, respectively, were sentenced to four-year RI and fined Rs20 lakh each.
In default of payment of the fine, Behera would undergo 18 months more jail term while in case of Patra and Panda the period is six months each.
However, in a special verdict under Sections 421(1) of CrPC, the court directed that even if the convicts served jail term after default in payment, the fine amount has to be realised from them.
The court convicted the trio under various sections of the IPC and Sections 4 and 5 of the Prize Chit (Money Circulation Scheme) Banning Act of the State.
According to the prosecution, the trio had floated two chit fund companies India Info Star and India Info line at Betanati in the district in November 2011. After collecting huge amounts of money from depositors promising them to double their amount in one year, they closed down their offices exactly a year later.
On the basis of an FIR on February 4, 2013 lodged by one Kalakar Mahanta of Phuragosala under the Betanati police station, who had been duped of Rs10 lakh, the police had arrested the trio. Though the detailed estimate is yet to be prepared, preliminary investigations have revealed that they had collected over Rs1.31 crore from depositors.