Company dupes depositors of Rs 1 crore

BALASORE: A private finance organisation here has been accused of duping people of over Rs 1 crore in Baliapal area of Balasore district. Following complaints, police on Wednesday registered a case. Sources said Aparupa Agro India Limited had opened its office in a rented house near Baliapal petrol pump, a year back. One Bhupati Jena, who identified himself as the Odisha chief of the company, had collected nearly Rs 1,44,84,000 through agents across the district. The agents had assured depositors that the company would disburse 10 times loan on the initial deposit.However, the office has remained closed since last month.A depositor, Sadashiva Sethi, said the collection agent had promised him to give Rs 5 lakh loan and took 10 per cent of the loan amount as initial deposit. Though Sethi demanded a receipt from him, the agent said a computerised receipt would soon reach him.Including Sethi, other depositors - Jagannath Das, Hemanta Das, Ramesh Mahakud, Sudhir Rout, Ranjubala Samanta and Ratikanta Samanta - lodged separate complaints with the police alleging that Jena escaped after collecting money through his associates who they identified as Himanshu Das and Prafulla Patra.While the owner of house, which was rented out for the organisation doesn’t know the whereabouts of Jena, depositors said his mobile phone was switched off.