Form of words:
Cuttack: A court dealing with the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (OPID) Act sentenced two persons, including a retired Army officer, to five years’ imprisonment after finding them guilty of duping defense personnel.
The court on Friday sentenced Sainik Welfare Organization chief Lt Col (Retd) Rakesh Rana and Brookson Infra Pvt Ltd Managing Director Purna Chandra Panda to five years imprisonment and also directed to pay a fine of Rs one lakh each.
Rana and Panda had collected around Rs 29 crore from several defense personnel with the promise of giving them princely land.
However, both could not give the land and did not return the money to the depositors despite repeated requests. The defrauded depositors had lodged a complaint against Rana and Panda with the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Police.
While probing the cases, the police had registered a case against Rana and Panda under various sections of the IPC and section 6 of the OPID Act. Hearing the matter, the OPID Court found both the company and the company guilty of the charges leveled against them.
“Besides the imprisonment, Rana and Panda are also directed to pay a fine of Rs one lakh each. Similarly, a fine of Rs two lakh has been imposed on the company,” said Biswajit Mohapatra, special public prosecutor of the OPID (special) court.
Neither Rana nor Panda were available for comment.
Read also: Calcutta court sentenced the main accused in the 2011 Bengal liquor scandal to life imprisonment
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