Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing of state Crime Branch Saturday arrested a conman from Raipur who embezzled Rs 14 crore deposited in the account of his organisation by several franchise owners between 2017 and 2018.
The accused identified as Jagannath Das, 34, is a resident of Badagada under Aska police station limits in Ganjam district. He was the managing director of Swarnyug Human Resources Private Limited (SHRPL).
The SHRPL had published several advertisements through newspapers inviting institutions interested in taking franchise from the Institute of Skills of Computer System (SCSI) by registering with his firm to impart free training programmes like computer literacy, soft skills and tailoring under the Skill Development Scheme of the Government of India.
Subsequently, many institutions across Odisha sought franchise and signed memoranda of understanding with SCSI. According to the rules enumerated in the MoU, the institute owners were required to pay between Rs 320 and Rs 6000 per trainee as security deposit and assessment fees at the time of admission. The deposits which earn an interest of 5 per cent would be paid back to the institutions as commission after the submission of various bills and documents at the end of the training session.
Accordingly, several institutions deposited fees depending on the students’ strength in the SHRPL and SCSI between 2017 and 2018. However, Das did not return the deposits along with the promised five per cent commission. He later absconded when the victims demanded their money back repeatedly.
A case (14/18) was lodged by Sambit Kumar Nayak who owns Sabitri Enterprisers at Banki in Cuttack. Nayak who imparted skill development training to 432 trainees had deposited Rs 5 lakh in the accounts of Das’s company.
The SDJM court here Saturday remanded Das in judicial custody.