Sai Pragati investors on Monday urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to recommend a CBI probe into the Sai Pragati and S-Virgin chit fund scams of around Rs 600 crore. The inquiry has now been taken up by the Economic Offences Wing of the Crime Branch police.
About 100 investors of the Sai Pragati Assets and Properties Pvt ltd and S-Virgin Worldwide Concepts ltd gathered in the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell and requested him to take immediate steps for recovery of their money and take stringent action against the officials of the fraudulent companies.
The investors alleged that Sai Pragati CMD Debasis Mohanty and directors including Aswini Kumar Das, Rabi Shankar Nanda, Kamalakanta Pattanaik, Nirmal Prasad Padhy and Surath Sahoo duped them by promising hefty returns.
In their letter to the Chief Minister, the investors said the company collected huge amounts from the public and finally closed its offices and destroyed the original documents of investors. The investors had lodged FIRs at the Capital police station last year. Further, numbers of cases have been filed in the High Court.
As the police did not take appropriate action, the investors had called a Press conference here on April 18 last year and then held a rally before the State Assembly demanding a Crime Branch probe. The company CMD and directors started threatening the investors who protested the scam and particularly those who took a leading role in fighting against the scam. Finally, company goons brutally attacked an investor. Aniruddha Mohapatra, on August 12 last and he is still under neurological treatment. Another investor, SK Abdul Kadir, died out of severe depression. The investors had lodged an FIR at the Khandagiri police station,but no action was taken,they alleged.
“We are yet to get justice and the accused are roaming free and threatening whoever comes their way,” said victim Mohapatra, adding, “During last five days, the goons of the Sai Pragati CMD and directors have been threatening to kill me for which I asked help of Khandagiri police to help me.”
“We request the Chief Minister to intervene in the matter personally and give justice to 85,000 harassed and poor investors by allowing a CBI probe into the case,” said Mohapatra.