Court Orders Release Of Rs 20 Lakh Frozen Amount To ITDC Hotel Nilachal Ashok Fraud Victim

Bhubaneswar: The SDJM court here has ordered to release Rs 20 lakh frozen amount to the victim of the 2020 India Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ITDC) hotel fraud case.

Bijayini Mohanty, the wife of Tapan Kumar Mohanty, had lodged a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch in 2020, alleging that Anikesh Sahu, former contractual assistant engineer of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC), Chandan Akash Mohanty, and Bikash Maharana cheated her husband of Rs 50 lakh on the pretext of selling ITDC’s Nilachal Ashok for Rs 15 crore.

The hotel, though now dilapidated, is located on the Blue Flag beach of Puri, next to the Raj Bhawan

They had approached Tapan, proprietor of TK Egg and Chicken Centre in Puri, through one of their friends and executed an agreement in February 2020. Anikesh had impersonated a contractor involved in various projects of ITDC, while Chandan faked a senior official of ITDC and Bikash claimed that he was working as a clerk in the Corporation.

To gain his trust, the accused first asked him to transfer Rs 20 lakh to ITDC’s official account in Delhi and took Rs 30 lakh cash from him.

Tapan suffered a brain stroke when he later learnt about the fraud and his health deteriorated further. He is now bedridden and paralyzed. The con had cost him Rs 50 lakh and his dream of owning the ITDC Nilachal Ashok Hotel in Puri, a mere 4km from his home.

“The amount of Rs 20 lakh was frozen from ITDC’s account. The amount will be handed over to Bijayini as her husband is in a vegetative state ever since he was conned,” said DIG (EOW) Jai Narayan Pankaj.