Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Friday launched simultaneous searches at 11 locations in Rayagada and Bhubaneswar as part of an investigation into alleged large-scale financial irregularities, misappropriation of funds, extortion and criminal intimidation involving office-bearers of the Rayagada Truck Owners’ Association.
Eight EOW teams are conducting the searches in connection with a case registered September 22 under Sections 406, 403, 417, 420, 384, 506 and 34 of the IPC/BNS. According to EOW sources, the investigation centres on allegations that the principal accused, in collusion with other office-bearers of the association, had been collecting money from truck owners since 2005 under various pretexts.
The collections allegedly included contributions claimed to be intended for funding Naxalite activities. Investigators suspect that substantial sums were collected over the years without proper accounting or the issuance of receipts, raising concerns over the alleged misuse and diversion of the funds.
The EOW further suspects that money collected from truck owners was subsequently diverted into several private business ventures, including logistics, trading, mining and real estate companies.
The ongoing investigation is aimed at establishing the trail of the allegedly misappropriated funds, identifying the beneficiaries and examining possible financial links between the association’s collections and the private business entities. The search operations were continuing at the time of filing this report, and further details are awaited, EOW sources said.