The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the State Crime Branch has arrested a retired Defence staff from New Delhi on the charge of duping people of over `30 crore on promise of providing land to them in city outskirts.
Arrested lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Rakesh Rana was produced in a court in New Delhi on Wednesday, and the court granted the EOW team to take Rana on a transit remand to Bhubaneswar, Crime Branch Special DG BK Sharma said here on Thursday.
Notably, Rana had allegedly cheated 542 serving and retired armed forces personnel by promising prime land under Giringaput Mouza in the Chandaka area.
Rana, a recipient of Kirti Chakra, and others had floated an NGO named ‘Sainik Welfare Organisation India’ (SWO-India) at Dwaraka in New Delhi.
The said NGO launched a plotted scheme spread over an area of around 27 acres at Giringaput Mouza in the name of ‘Defence Intercity Vatika Association’ in the year 2011.
It had promised to hand over the plots to 542 defence and ex-defence personnel by June 2012 with valid documents of registration, mutation and conversion.
The SWO-India was promoting the Bhubaneswar project through Brookson Infrastructure Private ltd MD Purna Chandra Panda, who was arrested by the EOW on August 27 last year, and the NGO’s project liasoining officer Pradipta Kumar Barik war providing him assistance. Barik was also arrested by EOW in September.
After collecting the amount, the accused neither provided the land nor returned the deposited amount.