Fresh Fraud Charges Against Arrested Self-Proclaimed Odisha Godman, 2 Bank Accounts Seized

Bhubaneswar: Three days after his arrest, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch has unearthed yet another fraud by Bijayananda Choudhury, the self-proclaimed godman in the name of Swami Bijayanandaji Maharaj.

Bijayananda and engineer Chandan Akash Mohanty were arrested on August 22 for allegedly defrauding a contractor of Rs 3 crore.

According to a fresh complaint lodged by a contractor of Berhampur, the godman duped him Rs 25 lakh on the promise of awarding a tender for construction work.

Acting on the complaint, the EOW has seized Rs 2 lakh after freezing two of his bank accounts.

The EOW also said that the fake godman has duped several people of over lakhs and the money has been transferred to his accounts.

Since the godman was seen at the recent mahurat of an Odia movie, an investigation will be made to ascertain whether he has invested money in the industry, it added.

The accused is likely to be taken on remand by the investigating agency for questioning in connection with Rs 3 crore fraud, which he allegedly committed by identifying himself as the chairman of the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) and issuing fake work orders to Dhanurdhara Champatiray, a special class contractor.

The work orders were found to be fake during the investigation. It was also ascertained that Chandan had paid a huge amount of money Bijayananda.

Also Read: EOW Arrests Engineer & Godman In Rs 3-Crore Fraud Case In Bhubaneswar & Cuttack