Man Held For Swindling Over Rs 1 Crore From NGOs In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday arrested Managing Director of Rudhitapa Institute of Technology and Management Pvt Ltd., Sudhir Sahoo on charges of misappropriating over Rs 1-crore funds from NGOs.

The 29-year-old accused is a resident of Bagoi village under Kujanga police limits in Jagatsinghpur district.

The arrest was made following a complaint lodged by the secretary of Nayagarh-based NGO, Harijan Adivasi Mahila Samti (HAMS).

The investigation revealed that Sahoo had opened an office at Saptasati Bihar in Palasuni here and induced many NGOs engaged in imparting various skill development training assuring that his company is a franchisee of the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIEIT) run by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

He asked the NGOs to pay a certain amount for a training programme and assured to give six times of the amount after submission of invoice of completion of the same. He had duped 15 such NGOs of Rs 62,12,311.

He had also cheated several other NGOs and persons and the misappropriated amount might exceed over Rs 1 crore, the EOW sources said.

Further investigation is underway.