Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the state Crime Branch arrested Wednesday the managing director of a real estate firm here on charges of duping around 13 persons to the tune of rupees four crore on the pretext of providing them duplex apartments at Jatni, an official said.
“Maheswar Sahu, managing director of M/s MX Infra Limited, has been taken into custody on the basis of an EOW case (02 of 2021) registered under Sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the IPC apart from 6 of the OPID Act, 2011,” the agency said.
According to the case details, Amiya Kumar Pattanaik had approached the agency alleging that Sahu had collected around rupees four crore from at least 13 persons, including Pattanaik, on the promise of providing them duplex apartments in ‘MX Infra New Citizen Housing (duplex)’ project located at Uttermundamuhana mouza under Jatni police limits in Khurda. However, Sahu did not turn up.
“The accused executed agreements with the intending buyers for providing them duplex apartments in 2017. However, there was no progress in construction of the project. When approached, the accused neither provided them any duplex flats nor refunded them their money. It has also been ascertained that the land meant for construction of the project is a litigated land, which was already mortgaged in bank by its previous owner.
Sahu had knowledge about the mortgage. He purchased the land with criminal intent to cheat the intending buyers,” the agency said about the probe.