Odisha court sentences three in chit-fund case

A court in Odisha on Monday sentenced three people up to five years in jail for their involvement in the multi-crore chit-fund scam. The court also slapped them with heavy fines.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Baripada, in Mayurbhanj district convicted India Info Star and India Info Line's regional manager Diptikant Behera, branch manager Gagan Patra, Subhendu Sekhar for cheating depositors, public prosecutor Santanu Das told reporters.

Behera would undergo rigorous imprisonment of five years with a fine of Rs.1 crore, while the branch manager and manager would undergo four years of rigorous imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs.20 lakh each, he said.

In default of payment, Behera would spend 18 more months in jail while Patra and Sekhar will spend additionally six months each, said Das.

However, the court issued a direction that even if the convicted people served the jail term after default of payment, the authorities have to realise the fine amount slapped on them.

They had duped people by floating two chit-fund companies in the district in November 2011. They closed down their offices after collecting about Rs.1.31 core.