The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the State Crime Branch on Monday arrested and court-forwarded Project liaison Officer of Sainik Welfare Organisation India for duping 542 servicemen of nearly Rs 30 crore through plotting scheme.
The accused was identified as Pradipta Kumar Barik (52) of Surangapur under Delang police limits in Puri district. Barik was arrested from a hotel located near the Bhubaneswar Railway Station.
Acting on a complaint lodged by retired defence personnel Patitapaban Biswal on July 27 this year, EOW had registered a case against the accused and initiated an investigation into the matter.
According to EOW officials, a group of servicemen had formed an NGO, namely ‘Sainik Welfare Organisation India’ at Dwarka in New Delhi. The said NGO launched a plotting scheme spread over an area of around 27 acres at Giringaput Mouza on the outskirts of the city in the year 2011.
The NGO had promised to hand over the plots to 542 defence and ex-defence personnel by June 2012 with valid documents after completing the procedure of registration, mutation and conversion. This organisation was promoting the Bhubaneswar project through accused Purna Chandra Panda, who was arrested by the EOW on August 27 this year. Panda was also the managing director of Bhubaneswar based developer M/S Brookson Infrastructure Pvt ltd, with the help of Barik.