Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra was allegedly duped of Rs 25 lakh in a case of land fraud. He has lodged a complaint at the Dhenkanal Town Police.
As per information, the incident took place in 2021 when Patra was a director in a company. He was approached by a man from Banasingh under Dhenkanal Sadar area. The man promised to arrange a plot of land at an affordable rate in Banasingh area and took an advance of Rs 25 lakh from Patra to finalise the deal.
However, the promised land deal never materialised and the accused allegedly avoided Patra. He later issued two cheques that bounced. Despite legal notices and extension of deadline up to November 30, 2024, and then January 2025, the accused failed to return the money.
After all efforts failed to delver any positive result, the Minister realised that he had been duped and lodged a complaint at the Dhenkanal Town Police Station on Sunday, seeking the recovery of the amount and the arrest of the accused.
Describing the incident as a personal matter, the Minister said someone had duped him on the pretext of selling land five years ago and the police will take appropriate steps.
Police have launched an investigation and initiated steps to trace the accused.
