Bhubaneswar: Several people approached the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the state Crime Branch and lodged a complaint Thursday alleging that they were duped by a bakery firm.
According their complaint, Paris Bakery, established in July 2013, has around 40 outlets operating at various places in the country including four in Kolkata.
The victims alleged that the company has defaulted on payment of their dues worth over Rs 22 crore for the last four months. It has also duped the raw material suppliers of crores of rupees. Around 80 people including vendors, employees and raw material suppliers lodged a complaint at Nayapalli police station Tuesday. Later, the owner of the bakery chain in presence of Nayapalli police agreed to clear all the dues of the victims. However, the cheques given by him (the owner) bounced. The office of the bakery firm at Nayapalli and its factory at Patia have been closed after the allegations came to fore.
Meanwhile, the victims alleged that a police officer who was reportedly in charge of Nayapalli police station was shielding the owner of the bakery. The victims alleged that earlier a police official at Nayapalli police station had suppressed the complaints they had filed earlier.
The victims claimed that a probe by the EOW in the case would expose the role of the police officer.