Alchemist’s victims file petition in High Court over Rs 1,000 crore fraud

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Bhubaneswar: The people who were allegedly duped by the Alchemist group of companies Thursday filed a writ petition in the Orissa High Court seeking refund of their money.
The Odisha Chapter of Alchemist Investors and Brokers’ Welfare Association, set up by the victims of the company from across the country, told the media about the filing of the petition Thursday.
Sources said the company owned by All India Trinamool Congress MP, KD Singh, allegedly opened 250 branches across the state, and collected around `1,000 crore from investors.
The company collected the amount from 2005 to 2013 promising attractive returns. Singh was also grilled by the West Bengal Police and the Enforcement Directorate several times regarding the chit fund scam in West Bengal.
But the company has neither paid back the principal nor the interest although the deposits had matured. The investors have repeatedly requested the company to return their money, but in vain.
The association also said that they have filed several complaints with the police, including the Economic Offences Wing of the Crime Branch, but justice still eludes them.
The body also accused the state government of a step-motherly approach as the authorities investigating the multi-crore chit fund scam in the state kept the Alchemist group out of the probe. The victims in the state mostly hail from Balasore, Sambalpur, Bhadrak and Ganjam districts.
However, the President of the Association, Pankaj Kumar Samoi, claimed that in July 2017 the Calcutta High Court, while hearing a writ against the Alchemist group filed by a victim from West Bengal, had constituted a one- man committee (the SP Talukdar Committee) to identify victims and ensure the company returns the money to them.
According to sources the investors have started getting back their money after the formation of the committee in July 2018.