Odisha EOW Says Company Officials Not Cooperating In Sambad Loan Fraud Case Probe

Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which is probing the alleged loan scam by the media group of Odisha MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, has alleged that the company officials are not cooperating with the investigating team.

The agency also alleged that several documents that they sought to verify were found missing from the computers of the company.

“Yesterday (Thursday) a team of EOW conducted searches in the office of the media house. However, the company staff did not cooperate in the investigation. Many important files and documents were found missing. The company authorities refused to hand over a few suspicious files to the investigating team,” EOW stated in a statement on Friday.

EOW team also wanted to copy some relevant computer files of accounts and HR sections but they were denied. In this situation the EOW team was forced to seize some Hard Discs, it said.

A cheating and forgery case was registered against Soumya Patnaik and Baijayanti Kar, the HR head of the media house, on September 16 following an allegation by former employee Asim Mohapatra that he was forced to take a loan on behalf of the company through fraudulent means.
Kar has reportedly moved the Orissa High Court seeking anticipatory bail.

EOW said that the statements of some more former and current employees of the publication house have been recorded and they have also corroborated the allegations made by the complainant Asim Mohapatra.

Further, authorities of Odisha Gramya Bank, Bhubaneswar, have initiated a departmental inquiry to look into the allegation of loan fraud, it added.

Some of the victims alleged that the company manipulated their salary figures and did not deposit their dues in the employees provident fund organisation (EPFO) and employees state insurance corporation (ESIC). EOW said they would seek details from the EPFO and ESIC to verify the allegations.

The bank accounts of the media house are being examined. It is seen that a huge amount of cash has been deposited in the accounts in the last few years. Further investigation into the case is on, the agency claimed.

Soumya Patnaik, who was expelled from the BJD for alleged anti-people activities on Thursday, is yet to comment on the EOW crackdown since registration of the case on September 16.
Company officials denied the allegations saying they have been cooperating with the investigating agency.